by Dwayne Phillips Sometimes we just don’t understand when someone else doesn’t understand. I was recently attending a meeting online. This was one of those ZoomerTeams things where the PowerPoint was on the screen and the presenter was talking in a room with one of those microphones on the conference table. I couldn’t understand what […]
I Don’t Understand What You Are Saying
June 10th, 2024 · No Comments
Tags: Clarity · Communication · Expectations · Honesty · Humility · Listening · Respect
Hard Right, Easy Wrong
June 6th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I must have missed something in my life as the title of this post was very confusing the first time I heard it. I was being interviewed for a job. This was on the telephone. There were several people on the other end of the line. The principal interviewer asked me something […]
Tags: Accountability · Adults · Authentic · Communication · Trust
This Isn’t a Mystery Novel
June 3rd, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Writing about technology on the job breaks just about every rule taught in creative writing classes. That is because you are writing to inform, not entertain. Sometimes I encourage others at work who are writing about technical topics. Their job is to inform. I encourage them not to entertain. All these encouragements […]
Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Communication · Technology · Writing
There Is No Crying in Baseball and Other Self-Contradictions
April 22nd, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Take caution with negative statements as they often contradict themselves. “There is no crying in baseball,” is a famous line from the movie A League of Their Own. (My wife says that is a movie about sisters. I say it is a movie about baseball.) That is a self-contradictory statement. One person […]
Tags: Analysis · Appearances · Clarity · Communication · Integrity · Learning · Meaning · Writing
Intentional: A Word Without Meaning
April 4th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips To be intentional is to do something that you intended to do. I guess that is better than doing something accidentally or unintentionally. Yet, it has no meaning. To be intentional is to do something that you intended to do. It is to do something on purpose. Eating is intentional. I eat […]
Tags: Choose · Communication · Decide · Ideas · Purpose · Reframe
Apology and Behavior
March 25th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips I stumble on something that everyone else in the world has already heard. It is still brilliant. The only apology is changed behavior. I heard that on TV the other day. It seems that in various forms, it goes back to ancient times. It was new to me. Still, it is brilliant. […]
Tags: Authentic · Change · Communication · Ethics · Reaction · Word
More Words, More Errors
March 21st, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips It is simple math: the more words presented the more errors present. Rats. There is a big benefit to brevity: fewer errors. One way to consider errors is to look at the number of errors per the number of words. Something like five errors per one-hundred words. That is 95% correct and […]
Tags: Brevity · Communication · Competence · Error · Expertise · Improvement · Writing
Vocabulary and Ceremonies
February 29th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We often use the vocabulary and ceremonies of a prescribed practice without actually doing anything worthwhile. Daily standup, peer review, prototype, minimum viable product, agility, AI, agent, etc.: examples of vocabulary that makes it appear as if something good is happening. Do they have a minimum viable product? Is there product much […]
Tags: Communication · Honesty · Practice · Process · Vocabulary · Work
John, I am Upset
February 8th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Here is one way to begin what is likely to be an unpleasant conversation. It lessens the unpleasantness and moves toward a more productive conversation. Let’s begin with, “John, I am upset.” (Substitute the other person’s name for John. That was the most alias of names I could find.) There, said the […]
Tags: Adults · Communication · Context · Conversation · Wishes
Just a Little Bit More (Being Too Helpful)
February 5th, 2024 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Loving and caring people want to help others. So we put one more thought into the writing and one more statement into the speaking. Delete those. Here are tips on editing writing that don’t need much thought, but hold true about 98.6% of the time: Get the idea? Loving and caring people […]
Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Communication · Writing