Blog
Check out my weekly posts about communications, information, motivation, writing, branding, creativity, media, marketing, persuasion, messages, learning, etc.
Not in My Front Yard
It’s federal election time in Canada, which means that candidate yard signs are sprouting like weeds. What’s the point? I ask for two reasons. Why do political parties think such signs are effective advertising? And why do homeowners agree to give them a spot on their...
Reach the Outer Limits with Your Inner Voice
What does the little voice in your head say? Does it push you past what you thought you could do? When we communicate with others, a common goal is to motivate some type of action or response. The same is true when we talk to ourselves. Consider tennis phenom Bianca...
Did You Ask a Good Question Today?
Here’s a question for back-to-school time: what’s the key to learning? A new study from Ohio State University (reported in ScienceDaily.com) looked at what happened during story time in 100 kindergarten and other early years classes. Besides reading the text, only 24%...
Don’t Whistle While You Work
The last long weekend of the summer looms with Labour Day. A day off is always welcome. This one celebrates workers too, with its roots in the union movement. While some people still fight for progress, working conditions have come a long way. The origins of Labour...
Working Overtime at the Outrage Factory
Earlier this year, Gallup released their Global Emotions report. They surveyed people in 140 countries, asking about their state of their emotions (positive or negative) in the prior day. Worldwide, people are becoming angrier, sadder and more stressed. Yet Canada...
The “Interfaith” Message Processor and the Tower of Babel
What events from the summer of 2019 do you figure will resonate the most 50 years from now? It’s not always easy to predict. Look back 50 years. The summer of 1969 saw Apollo 11 land on the moon, the Manson Family murders and Woodstock. All within a span of 26 days....
Don’t Shoot the Messenger
The stories we immerse ourselves in can entertain, enlighten and enthrall us. Can they also set us down an evil path? It’s a question that some people raise in the wake of certain bloodshed. Aha – video games are to blame. Or maybe violent movies. The theory is...
Will Hearables be Bearable?
Smart headphones might be the wave of the future. Will they connect us, or disconnect us more? Ever lose ear bud headphones? You don’t want to misplace these from an L.A. designer named Ian DeLucca. He recently unveiled a limited edition set of Apple AirPods: 1,000...
Fly Me to the Moon
Fifty years ago this July, three men left Florida on a summer road trip. It wasn’t your typical excursion – some 240,000 miles away, a 21-hour and 36-minute stopover, then 240,000 miles back. Apollo 11 launched July 16, 1969, landed on the moon July 20 and returned...
The Ice Cream Licker’s Taste Test
Summer is the time for ice cream. But not like this. You may have heard about the vandal in Lufkin, Texas, the one with an appetite for destruction. On June 28, she opened a carton of Blue Bell Tin Roof ice cream at a Walmart, licked the top and returned it to the...