Tips to effectively delegate assignments

“You, what’s your name?” “Tom.” “Tom, call 911.” Many, many years ago, at a first aid training course, the instructor said that when you happen on an accident scene, it’s important to be specific when asking for help. Ask the person’s name, look them in the eye, then say their name as part of your […]

Communication Hygiene

Washing your hands regularly and brushing your teeth: these habits are important for the hygiene of your body. Similarly, good communication hygiene is important, tasks that make you a better communicator and make sure you are communicating well. Communication hygiene essentially refers to making sure you are practicing proper techniques. A big part of this […]

When does talk become action?

This week, world leaders are in Glasgow, Scotland for the annual summit on climate. COP26, it’s called officially, meaning this is the 26th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) since Kyoto in 1995. Rather than go into a review of what action has been taken since the first COP, I want to talk […]

Brainstorming

As I sit here trying to come up with a good blog post topic, it occurs to me that I should write about the process. Coming up with topics is hard. There are countless topics on the internet, so how do you (or I) decide what to write about? Brainstorming is tricky because while it […]

Where are you going?

Those who know me know that I’m a lifelong IABC member and champion – a member for 37 years and counting. IABC has been there for me every step of my career. When I was starting out, it was (and still is!) the best place to get information and resources on the latest trends in […]

How to #Hashtags

It was a pound sign, the number symbol, and now it has become one of the most used special characters …the hashtag. Hashtags are great to use but sometimes they can be tricky, especially if you are trying to use them for a specific purpose and are not very familiar with how they work. Here […]

Awareness is a step, not a destination

Make it go viral. We want to increase awareness. Sigh. I’ve had a long-held conviction that awareness campaigns are just the first phase of a longer strategy. The big goal is to change attitudes and behaviour. Lemme show you. Did you know that the Yellowhead Highway is only 158 km longer than TransCanada Highway 1, […]

IABC World Conference Experience

I recently attended my first (virtual) International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) World Conference! I have attended the Canada West Region conference before (in person – back in the day) and it was so fun, so engaging and so interesting to meet people in the same profession whom I could relate to in a way […]

Being Heard

As we emerge from various stages of lockdown, communication professionals will deal with the challenges of partially- or fully-remote workers, technology changes and strained resources. This, according to the Ragan Communication Benchmark Report 2021, will cause communication professionals to be even more nimble. More on that another day. The biggest report finding for me, though, […]

Clip Art Reborn

Think waaaaay back… remember clip art? Screen beans and tacky illustrations, with the ever present Microsoft paperclip ready to help at an instant? Looks like clip art is making a comeback, but in a much more sophisticated way. Enter Canva, Crello, Easil and dozens of others. The question is, should non-designers be designing their own […]