Creative Writing
1 May 2022

I still love you

Julie Montgomery was blessed with two parents who still loved each other as much as they loved their only child. When Julie was only two years of age Miriam, Julie’s mother, was ‘ruined’ internally by a violent home invasion that left her viciously raped and unable to have any more children. After the incident Miriam used her patients at her own psychiatric clinic to heal […]

Creative Writing
1 May 2022

Scalpel

‘Scalpel.’ ‘Scalpel’ ‘I’m making an incision along the medial articulate line’ ‘Yes doctor’ ‘Forceps’ ‘Forceps’ Doctor Gerald Handsome, the city’s most skilled fracturalotomy surgeon, opened up the incision he had made and peered into the abyss he had opened up. He rummaged around in it. ‘Bugger,’ he exclaimed. ‘Yes doctor?’ ‘My wedding ring isn’t there.’ Gerald looked up at the nurse standing opposite him across […]

Business writing
19 December 2021

Secrets of master communicators: 11-15

In our previous communications we looked at ten persuasive techniques that advanced communicators use to influence us. Today we look at another five. Eleven Firstly, scarcity. Here’s a fun experiment from the 1970s—procure two identical glass cookie jars. In one jar put ten cookies, in the other, two. Same cookies. Now invite friends to tell you which cookies from which jar taste better. You will […]

Creative Writing
16 December 2021

What do retiree women want? To be left alone?

The question occurred to me the other day, what do women want? Now, this isn’t the first time in my sixty odd years on earth that I’ve been interested in what women want, but it is the first time I’ve been interested in what women of my senior age are looking for when they are thinking of (if, indeed, they even do think of) romantic […]

Business writing
15 December 2021

Secrets of powerful communicators: Influencers 6-10

In our previous article, we looked at five persuasive techniques that advanced communicators use to influence us. Today we look at another five. Firstly, there’s social role expectations. Try this: place someone in an environment, in a role you have asked them to play but they don’t necessarily have experience in playing. Very often they will perform in that role above expectation. Similarly, telling someone […]

Business writing
13 December 2021

Secrets of persuasion: how to positively influence your message recipients

According to Andrews, Van Leeuwen and Van Baaren, there are thirty-three hidden persuaders that powerful communicators use to get the results they want. In this article, I list five of the most powerful. 1. Acknowledging resistanceYou may find this hard to believe, but simply acknowledging that the recipient of our communication is going to have objections is key to them overcoming them themselves. They may […]

Business writing Nonverbal
4 December 2021

Nonverbal communication and space: why your office is the size it is

In an interesting book entitled The Hidden Dimension,  anthropologist Edward T. Hall discusses space, how people structure it, and how space influences communication. “Proxemics” is the term Hall has coined for the interrelated observations and theories of man’s use of space as a specialized elaboration of culture. One use of space with which most of you are familiar is someone’s favourite chair. Frequently it is Dad […]

Business writing Nonverbal
4 December 2021

5 ways to structure a presentation for maximum effect

When creating an outline structure for a presentation we are about to give — whether that presentation is in writing, via personal delivery, or via multimedia — there are five basic ways to organise that structure for maximum effect: by Time by Space by Problem & Solution by Cause & Effect by Motivation Let’s consider each in turn. 1. Structuring your presentation by Time Let’s suppose that your presentation is on […]

Business writing Nonverbal
3 December 2021

Nonverbal communication: signposts, transitions and summaries

Signposts, transitions and summaries In two previous articles (nonverbal communication structure 01 and nonverbal communication structure 02) I discussed how an organised pattern to your presentation is a powerful nonverbal tool to aid your audience’s comprehension and your message’s delivery. And much like route signs and mileage markers help the traveller, so to can you help the listener or reader of your communication. Three devices you can […]

Business writing
3 December 2021

Career Self-Sabotage: how to avoid it

G’day and welcome to my vidcast. Today I want to talk about career self-sabotage. There are 10 common ways we can self-sabotage our career, and only one involves weaponry. Walking the tightrope at work between individual professionalism and being a team-player (which every company says it wants but most don’t really value that highly) can be tricky. Here’s 10 areas of corporate life you may […]