by Dwayne Phillips Along with the sage advice, “listen more, talk less,” I add, “nap more, talk less.” “People who nap in the day are lazy.” My mother told me that countless times. Sometimes I disagree with things my mother told me. Now to the title of the post: before opening mouth, rest. Fatigue always […]
Nap More, Talk Less
January 18th, 2024 · No Comments
Tags: Communication · Fatigue · Learning · Listening · Rest · Writing
Mean What We Say and Say What We Mean
December 21st, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Let us mean what we say and say what we mean. Sometimes that requires too much effort. The effort is worth it if we want others to take us seriously. You know what I mean, huh? You get my drift, right? Just go along with me on this one. And then one […]
Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Communication · Competence · Culture · Thinking
Jargon
December 14th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips We continue to use too much jargon. Are we illiterate or just too lazy to type words? I am reviewing materials for a certification. Gosh, I am too old for this, but whatever. I won’t mention the name of the certification. I you continue reading this post, you can probably guess which […]
Tags: Brevity · Clarity · Communication · Conversation · Word · Writing
You Do Not Know With Whom You Speak
December 7th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips A text without a context is a pretext. Know the audience. Sorry, these are old basics but they still apply. “Do you know who I am?” That question is a biting indictment of a person who approaches another in ignorance and starts talking in grand fashion about what might be grand ideas, […]
Tags: Communication · Context · Information · Knowledge
We Don’t Have Time
November 6th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips The old saying about not having time to do it once still holds. Perhaps we will learn one day. There is an old saying about not having the time to do something right, but always having the time to do it over and over and over and… I’m not sure who said […]
Tags: Choose · Communication · Expectations · Time · Work
50% of 50%
October 26th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Let’s pay attention to some basic math. We don’t like that, but we are adults, so let’s behave accordingly. In some respects, asking, “What is 50% of 50%?” is silly. Ask a mathematician that question. I did recently and the response was a laugh. The answer is 2,500%%. Huh? Everyone knows that […]
Tags: Adults · Approximation · Clarity · Communication · Data Science · Knowledge · Science
Engineers and Philosophers
October 5th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips It is often best to leave the conversations of another profession to those other professionals. I am an engineer. There, got that out of the way. And I have a Doctor of Philosophy or PhD in engineering. I have not idea why they call the degree by that name. Oh well, got […]
Tags: Communication · Engineering · Expertise · Humility · Language
Nouns and Verbs
September 18th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Back to a basic: write with nouns and verbs. It brings us closer to brevity and clarity. Those are pretty good places to be. I was reminded of this short and powerful writing tip this past week. And yes, it was from Strunk and White. They used the title of the post […]
Tags: Communication · Information · Language · Review · Word · Writing
Not a Writer (?)
September 11th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Are you not a writer? Really. Just type the words you say. “You must understand, Dwayne, you are a writer,” several people over the years. Yes, I am cursed or blessed to be “a writer.” What do I do? I put my fingers on the keyboard and type the words that come […]
Tags: Communication · Technology · Thinking · Tools · Word · Writing
Data Visualization (A Calendar)
September 7th, 2023 · No Comments
by Dwayne Phillips Let’s not get carried away with things like “data visualization.” We’ve been looking at data for a long time. I have heard a lot lately about data visualization. This blog post should indicate that I have heard far too much lately about data visualization. The folly hit me recently as we were […]
Tags: Calendar · Communication · Data Science · History · Journal · Knowledge · Technology · Visibility