Learning from the Greek philosophers

Learning from the Greek philosophers

“Persuasion is the art of getting people to do something they wouldn’t ordinarily do if you didn’t ask.” Aristotle From ancient Greece to the late 19th Century, building rhetorical skills was a central part of Western education, filling the need to train...
The positive side of persuasion

The positive side of persuasion

Persuade: (1) cause to believe: convince (2) a. induce b. lure, attract, entice etc. Definition from the Oxford English Dictionary A word can have several shades of meanings and many implications – and not all of the Oxford English Dictionary’s definitions (above) of...
Email perils and pitfalls

Email perils and pitfalls

“Email, instant messaging, and cell phones give us fabulous communication ability, but because we live and work in our own little worlds, that communication is totally disorganized.” Marilyn vos Savant Countless e-mails are sent every day. In a business context, there...
Understand how readers read

Understand how readers read

“What is reading? Most of us think of reading as a simple, passive process that involves reading words in a linear fashion and internalizing their meaning one at a time. But reading is actually a very complex process that requires a great deal of active participation...
Think clearly, write clearly

Think clearly, write clearly

“The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.” Lee Iacocca   Ten Principles of Clear Writing 1. Have a clear goal and purpose for what you are writing and develop a structure and style that suits this purpose: you may wish...