Social media’s ever-increasing presence in our lives is a clear reminder of just how badly we humans want to connect with each other. Unfortunately, too many companies completely ignore that reality when they try to communicate with customers and prospects. Doesn’t matter whether they’re using an Insta video, an email newsletter, a website, or an … Read more
You have access to tens of thousands of fonts. But you probably shouldn’t use more than a couple of them. Why? Once, businesspeople communicated primarily using devices called typewriters. Most typewriters offered just one font, and the most popular model in offices, the IBM Selectric, used a font we know as Courier. Somehow, everyone managed … Read more
Famous television doctor Mehmet Oz invested millions into an unsuccessful effort to capture one of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seats, and I’m pretty confident a single word had plenty to do with his defeat. While trying to prove he was just a regular guy by stopping in a supermarket to grab items for dinner, the celebrity … Read more
Rapidly tap your wrist in front of an AARP member, and she’ll assume that you’re worried about running late. Do the same thing in front of a 23-year-old co-worker, and you’ll get a blank stare. As times and technologies change, expressions based on those technologies change right along with them — and an experience that’s … Read more
Mark Twain’s take on prevarication remains as accurate today as when he penned it: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” We live in an age in which we’re overwhelmed by information, and a large share of what we consume is in the form of statistics. A key reason for that … Read more
I’ve stated many opinions in this space, but few are as likely to trigger as intense a reaction as the headline of this article. Among many executives, mission statements are a sacrosanct cornerstone of corporate governance. But I’ll stand by my statement. Now, I’m not saying that your mission statement is unimportant. After all, a … Read more
As a writer, I tend to become involved in the graphic design process only peripherally, but I still manage to learn useful lessons from it. One of the most instructive design lessons came from someone who knew absolutely nothing about typography and color theory. I’m fascinated by the process of logo design – not the … Read more
No, you didn’t read that wrong. I have a new gas meter … and I’m kind of proud. It’s not like I picked it out or anything. One day I walked into my back yard and startled a woman wearing a gas-company vest. Three days later, I received a letter informing me my ghastly, archaic … Read more
We’ve all sat in our share of frustrating meetings, but I can still remember the meeting that very nearly did me in. It took place in 1987 in a Chicago boardroom. A group of automotive industry CEOs (you’d recognize most of the company names) was meeting with a pair of representatives from a social services … Read more
Few phrases frustrate me as much as “dumbing down.” Usually, I hear it as a command (“This is technical, so dumb it down for our customers.”) or a protest (“I don’t think I should have to dumb this down!”) Both uses are offensive. Both are also clear signs the speaker doesn’t understand human communication. Years … Read more