Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category

Nonfiction and Fiction Writing – Worlds Apart

One of my role models is Cory Doctorow. Cory's the co-editor of Boing Boing and the author of Little Brother, a teen sci fi adventure set in San Francisco in the near future.I love Cory because like me, he has about ten jobs, and I admire him because he's made a successful transition from nonfiction to fiction writing. You heard it here - this year I'm… Continue reading

January 25 2010 | By Alexandra | Tagged: creativity, fiction, writer, writing | 9 comments»

Confessions of a Spam-Catcher: How to Identify Spam

As part of my role as Lifehack’s manager, I am responsible for moderating the comments queue. Lifehack’s back-end has a “Pending” queue for comments that our spam-catching software thinks might be spam, a “Spam” queue for comments labeled “spam” either by the software or by me, and another queue for comments that have been approved, again either by the software or by me. As a general rule, I check… Continue reading

January 18 2010 | By Dustin | Tagged: blogging, comment, spam, webmaster, website, writing | 16 comments»

8 Qualities of Powerful Writing

Every semester I agonize over how to help my students learn to write more meaningful, interesting papers. Not just in my class, but altogether. Writing well is a key skill in today’s information-heavy society, and above all else my job is to help prepare students to become active participants in the society we live in.Writing well is about far more than proper grammar and spelling. In fact, good writing… Continue reading

January 15 2010 | By Dustin | Tagged: college, persuasion, student, university, writer, writing | 30 comments»

Develop Your Greatest Skill – Language

The most common method of thinking is verbal thinking. We have a range of intelligences including numerical, musical, spatial, emotional, verbal and kinaesthetic intelligences, yet it is verbal intelligence that we depend on most. We tend to think and express ourselves in words. Mastering the use of words is the most important skill we develop because acquiring further skills depends on our comprehension of… Continue reading

January 12 2010 | By Paul | Tagged: intelligence, language, skill, speak, verbal, vocabulary, words, write | 20 comments»

Why Popularity at Work Matters

In high school, didn’t a part of you always wonder how the cool kids did it? Popularity remained an enigmatic aspect of human existence that ceased to be relevant once we threw our caps in the air…right?There are scores of research studies on popularity in schools, and most have indicated that popular children are viewed as better students and make and maintain friendships more easily. In 2009… Continue reading

January 4 2010 | By Alexandra | Tagged: career, interpersonal-skill, job, reputation, work, workplace | 16 comments»

Put Up Your Hand If You Ever Lie

Put up Your Hand if You Ever Lie.If your hand went up, then we now know you’re a liar. If it didn’t go up then we know you’re an even bigger liar.When asked the question “are you a liar?” nearly 97% of people answer “no”. When the remaining 3% (self-confessed liars) are subjected to questions calibrating their real, rather than perceived, honesty, they turn out to be, on average, 28… Continue reading

November 9 2009 | By Craig | Tagged: honesty, lying, truthfulness | 18 comments»

Make Email Your Servant (Not Your Master)

Let's be clear. Your email is not your work; it is simply a tool to help you do your work. But like any tool it can be ineffective or even dangerous when used wrongly. Here is how to make email your servant not your master.1. Check your email inbox at set intervals. Do not have your email on and active in front of you all the time. For most people… Continue reading

November 4 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: contact, email, folder, message, outlook, twitter | 19 comments»

How to Give a Great Speech: Part 2 Delivery

An important speech can be a worry. The keys for success are good preparation and confident delivery. If you have prepared your talk well and memorised the key points then you are ready to give a great performance. And it is a performance. Giving a talk should be much more than simply conveying information - it involves an element of drama and of theatre. Here are some tips: 1… Continue reading

October 26 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: address, delivery, keynote, presentation, public-speaking, speech, talk | 13 comments»

How to Give a Great Speech, Part 1: Preparation

If you have to give a keynote speech, an after-dinner talk, or an address to a group of customers or colleagues then preparation leads to success. Here are some key tips: 1. Investigate the audience. Find out as much as you can about your audience, their interests and their likely mood. What is it that they will want from your session - information, entertainment, tips, ideas, guidance? What will they have heard… Continue reading

October 19 2009 | By Paul | Tagged: presentation, public-speaking, speech | 22 comments»

Writing Research Papers

No matter where you are in your intellectual journey, the ability to assemble and analyze large amounts of complex information is a skill that can pay large dividends both in monetary terms and in terms of your overall satisfaction with life. What follows is a very short guide and template for writing excellent research papers.Re-Evaluating Road-Crossing: The Chicken Was PushedA Short Guide to Writing a Research Paper Abstract The Abstract is usually… Continue reading

September 25 2009 | By Art | Tagged: college, education, paper, research, student, university, writing | 9 comments»

12 Tips for Better Business Writing

Today’s business world is almost entirely information-driven. Whether you run a small business or occupy a small corner of the org-chart at a massive multinational corporation, chances are that the bulk of your job consists of communicating with others, most often in writing. Of course there’s email and the traditional business letter, but most business people are also called on to write presentations, memos, proposals, business requirements, training materials, promotional… Continue reading

September 10 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: business, business-writing, freelance, writing | 31 comments»

Can You Be Truly Honest?

Honesty, we say, is the best policy. And yet, it’s hardly news to anyone that in much of our lives, dishonesty rules. Salespeople lie about the benefits of one product over another, or about how useful those “extended service plans” really are. Partners lie about whether they liked dinner, or about what they did last night after work. Employees lie about the reason a project is overdue, or about how… Continue reading

September 8 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: fear, honesty, people, relationship, self-development, self-improvement, trust | 27 comments»

Back to School: Talk to Your Professor!

For university students around the US it’s time to go back to school, or go for the first time for freshmen. European and other students might have a while before the next school year starts up, but this advice is for them, too.Talk to your professors!In one of my earliest posts here at Lifehack, I explained how to talk to a professor – today, I want to talk about… Continue reading

August 26 2009 | By Dustin | Tagged: back-to-school, college, conversation, education, learning, student | 10 comments»

How to Avoid the Disconnection Epidemic

Reflection on disconnection

In 2009 we are indeed a global community infected by disconnection. On many levels and in many ways. And as a planet and as a tribe living on that planet, it’s safe to say that the Disconnection Epidemic is killing us. Or perhaps should I say, we’re killing us. Metaphorically and literally. Just take a look around at the consequences of our global disconnected-ness… Continue reading

July 20 2009 | By Craig | Tagged: connection, disconnection, engagement, relationship | 19 comments»

5 Ways to Make Sure You’re Asking Well

I wrote a post here last week called "Can't-Miss Marketing: Just Ask" that got a lot of interesting responses. Sure, people said, asking is all well and good, but what does "asking well" actually mean?It's an interesting, and important, question to consider. If, as I've seen time and time again, good things really come to those who ask, what do they do right? What traits do they have in… Continue reading

July 6 2009 | By David | Tagged: ask, career, favor, marketing, request, work | 12 comments»

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