59 ways to set boundaries

Even though most of us communicate for a living, we may find ourselves at a loss for words when it comes to saying no. Whether it’s a work project that can’t be taken on or an invitation to what will be a stress-filled family get-together, it’s important to consider our own workloads and sanity before we obligingly commit. So how can we politely and firmly say no? And how do we get others to respect these boundaries? Consider using the phrases below as a starting point, no matter what type of boundary you need to set.   When you disagree with someone I disagree...

11 tricky word combinations

The English language is full of problematic word pairs. Here are 11 sets that can cause trouble . . .  even for the most experienced writers and editors. (Definitions and usage guidance from Lexico and Merriam-Webster.) Adverse and averse Adverse means unfavorable or harmful. Report any adverse effects from the drug to your physician. Averse means opposed or strong disliking. He was averse to the idea of using a new tool for our online meetings. Biannual and biennial A biannual event occurs twice per year. Our financials are published biannually in March and...

When it comes to the meaning behind the ...

Language relies on a shared definition of common terms — but what happens when our definitions are out of sync with colleagues, friends and loved ones? Have you ever been troubled by a word? Not a curse word or an offensive term, but an ordinary, everyday word? Maybe it’s a word that an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend used that drove you crazy, or kaybe it’s a word that everyone uses to sound smart. Or, a word that someone once used to deliberately anger you. Whatever the reason—you hear the word and you’re immediately on edge. The word currently preying on my mind...

What are your language pet peeves?

“Mom, Bryan’s using potty words. He said “utilize.” We’ve reached the stage in my house where my kids use bad grammar and language gaffes to annoy me. Whether it’s saying “utilize” over and over at the dinner table or referring to their homework as “deliverables,” they know how to exasperate the word nerd in me. Here are some of their favorites. How many of these make you cringe?  Worthless verbs “Please utilize your hands and pass me the pepper.” “I think we should implement a policy of dessert first.” “If you get me an Oculus, I can...

24 ways to end a seemingly endless onlin...

For more than a year, most of our meetings with co-workers, clients, and executives have been through a screen. Many of us have logged more hours in Zoom than we’ve logged in Microsoft Word or Salesforce or HubSpot. One of the many communication challenges I’ve experienced in all these online meetings is that it can be more difficult to end a Zoom meeting than to end an in-person meeting. People want to chat more and check the time less when meeting online. And that’s how we end up spending even more time in meetings in 2020 and 2021 than we did in 2019. If you find...

9 cognitive biases that can derail your ...

Ever wonder what leads people to make the decisions they make? Not the trivial decisions, such as what toothpaste to buy or what to have for lunch. (Marketers can perseverate over those types of decisions.) But the life-altering, critical decisions, such as whether to get a COVID vaccine or winterize power plants ahead of a winter storm. Because more and more of us now live with the consequences of other people’s catastrophically bad decision making, I’ve been wondering what leads seemingly smart, well-meaning people to make such colossal mistakes in judgement. If...