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Entries Tagged as 'Communication'

The Core Problem of Gun Control Legislation

February 21st, 2013 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips People on differing sides of the gun control issue are separated by knowledge. Without education, the sides will probably never come together. Gun control legislation is a hot topic in America today. It is almost impossible to have a rational discussion of the issue. The core problem is: knowledge This comes about […]

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Tags: Communication · Culture

No Thank You vice the Red X

February 14th, 2013 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips How clever  – pop up windows have replaced the red x with “no thank you.” I’ve noticed this the last week or so. Those annoying pop up windows – instead of clicking on the red X in the upper right corner, they have a “no thank you” box at the bottom of […]

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Tags: Communication

The Engineer and the Scientist

January 17th, 2013 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips One of my sons is an engineer. Another son is a scientist. Engineer: We’ll do this. Scientist: That’s not how it really works. Engineer: We’ll make it work.

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Tags: Communication · Culture

Percent Change – A Review Tutorial

January 7th, 2013 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips This may be a waste of time, but I review how to calculate the percent change. I feel silly about this post. I am going to show how to calculate the percent change in numbers. I learned this when I was 12 or 10 or something in school math. A look at […]

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Tags: Communication · Education · Government · Money

A Simple Writing Formula

December 24th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips When writing to convey information, I use a formula that is easy for me to remember and works for me. The formula is: what, so what, now what. Someone gave me this formula in a meeting years ago. The meeting had nothing to do with writing, but had something to do with […]

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Tags: Communication · Writing

Precise, Concrete, and Specific

December 13th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Those three nouns in the post title continue to come to mind lo these many years since freshman English Composition. It was the summer of 1976 – yes, the Bicentennial summer. I was one month out of high school and taking freshman English composition. Dr. Gray taught the class. Two things stand […]

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Tags: Communication · Education · Writing

Flip Flopping to Extremes

November 29th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I have observed people change their mind from one extreme to another. Is there a name for this behavior? I have observed something about people and I am searching for a name for this behavior. I have observed this across decades, organizations, and areas of endeavor. Here is how it goes: Consultant: […]

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Tags: Communication · Culture · General Systems Thinking · Observation · People

Six-Word Stories

November 22nd, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I try to write a few six-word stories and learn a few things. I have heard about six-word stories and stories written with only a few words. Okay, enough thinking and waiting; here are a few attempts. The window broke; I jumped out. I woke, he died, me too. The grandchildren visited. […]

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Tags: Communication · Thinking · Writing

A Look at Explain Everything

November 15th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips I look at a $3 program that enables making video explanations using the iPad. Two days in a row, I bump into a presentation program. This time it is called Explain Everything. It costs $2.99 and runs on the iPad. In the program, you create a few “slides” which become the background […]

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Tags: Communication · Technology

A Look at Prezi

November 12th, 2012 · No Comments

by Dwayne Phillips Following the suggestion of several friends, I take a look at Prezi – a new(er) presentation-making application. Several friends hit me recently with, “prezi prezi prezi.” First, I didn’t understand what they were saying. Second, I didn’t know how to spell what they were saying. I can’t mimick their pronunciation in my […]

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Tags: Communication · Technology