I recently sent a document out for review; I had designed and created it to be a series of alphabetical listings. One reviewer asked for a table of contents. I couldn’t figure that out, as A, B, C, D seemed pretty easy to navigate to me. I asked her why she thought a TOC would… Continue Reading
Are you drowning in jargon? My son’s voicemail said: “Hi, Mom. I’m in Minnie, on my way to Indy. I passed my FO. Call me after 7 when I’ll be out of the box.” Hello??? One short message, four examples of airline jargon. This message certainly was concise, but it wasn’t clear to me and… Continue Reading
Several readers responded to my recent blog about not liking to write but liking to have written. To overcome writer’s block, I force myself to sit still and write for a block of time. I have become a voluntary prisoner again today, at least until I finish this blog post. I have recently become aware… Continue Reading
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” Albert Einstein, physicist, 1879-1955 I have serious doubts about Einstein’s not having special talent, but I do believe the second sentence and try to apply passionate curiosity to all facets of my life. I have been especially thinking about curiosity recently after publishing a 3-page… Continue Reading
Today I am featuring a guest column by a former client and friend who just started her own coaching business: I first met Bette about 18 years ago when I was exploring career options in college and have since had the privilege of working with her on multiple occasions. I’m grateful for this opportunity to… Continue Reading
One of my favorite columnists, Leonard Pitts, Jr., recently wrote a commentary titled I (heart) introverts in which he reviewed Susan Cain’s New York Times bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. I immediately bought the book and found myself on almost every page. For most of my life,… Continue Reading
“What do you call someone who speaks three languages?” (Multilingual) “What do you call someone who speaks two languages?” (Bilingual) “What do you call someone who speaks one language?” (American) Continue Reading
After so many years of teaching writing, I am accustomed to feeling that I am the language expert in the classroom. I’m not saying that my perception is accurate; it’s just my perception. Imagine my discomfort when I volunteered in my granddaughter’s kindergarten Russian immersion class. Here were 5-year-old American children chattering in Russian and… Continue Reading
I have never been overly impressed with my own persuasive capabilities, but recently I experienced a political success that I attribute to storytelling. Some background: On five separate occasions, I had recently had five near encounters with bicycles while I was walking on the sidewalk that loops through our condo development (there are several blind… Continue Reading
For eleven years, I have stumbled over a large box of family photos in my garage. Every New Year I vow to organize these thousand-plus photos into albums so I can show them to the grandkids and their parents. One year, I bought all the plastic sleeves I would need and threw them into the… Continue Reading