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Archive for the ‘Art of Communication’ Category

The Expanding Roster of Will Stipulations

Anyone who has recently had the experience of completing or updating a Will (at least in Canada) has likely discovered, as I have, that the legalese terminology has been transformed into a little less technical linguistics, but replaced with a larger volume of phraseology covering subject matter which used to be implied, rather than overtly stated. (more…)

To Be or Not to Be – Sponsored

There are signs posted around Ottawa for Canada’s 150th birthday. This would seem to be a worthwhile cause. However, they prominently feature a sponsor name next to the emblem. One cannot help wondering if there’s no limit to such pervasiveness: even the promotion of a national sesquicentennial is not immune to association with patronage. (more…)

TOP ‘Under the Radar’ Award Shows

Anyone exposed to conventional media such as television knows that the early part of the year is replete with award shows. Those that are televised, at least broadly, they tend to be affairs which take the ceremonies and nominations seriously, while ‘under the lights’.

However, as in life, there are some parts of the awards world which fall between the cracks.

Here’s a list of some ‘under the radar’ award celebrations, which some in society deem worthwhile, televised or not: (more…)

TOP 10 2017 Valentine Day Sayings

Less obvious ways to say those magic words: I love you / or, I like you / or, at least, I know you(more…)

At the End of the Sliced Bread

Two of the multitude of overused, and often obscurely used, expressions of modern times are:

  • The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread
  • At the End of the Day

In the interests of better quality communication, let’s issue a “Breaking News” alert (since it doesn’t take much to qualify these days), and consider putting them out of our verbal misery. (more…)

What We’re Sensing

Any of us exposed for some time to a family dog knows that they develop an intuitive quality of awareness of, to some degree understanding, our behaviour and moods, not to mention their ongoing desire to connect through eye contact. The capacity of dogs to have a helpful instinct – illustrated at an extreme, if wistful, level in the book and film “A Dog’s Purpose” – has been evident over the years, in their training as police dogs, as ‘seeing eye’ dogs for the blind, and in therapeutic visits to hospitals as well as senior residences.

Many of us see much of dog behaviour as mirroring that of children. (more…)

The Future of Insurance

An article in the January edition of The Insurance & Investment Journal discusses likely evolution of the insurance industry in Canada over the next two decades.

While obviously no on can foretell how it will look by then – especially given the ever-increasing pace of change – the roles of ‘consumption habits’ and technology are expected to be front and centre. (more…)

Life Lessons from Angie Tribeca

It’s easy to have mixed feelings about a TV cop show (this one from TBS), including a comedic take like Angie Tribeca.

So far it has broadcast two seasons, albeit of ten episodes each, and likely will have at least one more.

It is uniquely placed in the current landscape due to its throwback focus on sight gags, supported by verbal puns, irony, etc., often delivered at rapid fire pace.  (more…)

Blogging Tips from a Pro

Early on in his latest book, Thank You for Being Late – An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, author and Pulitzer prize winning, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, embeds some tips for writing opinion pieces.

While this aspect of the book is precipitated by a chance encounter with a New York parking attendant who is also an Ethiopian blogger, his advice is widely both cogent and timely, especially for those of us striving for relevance in the blogging sphere. (more…)

‘Headlines Revisited’ – Part Two

As we launch into the new year it’s enlightening to reflect on recent historical perspective.

When Jay Leno was host of the Tonight Show, one of his regular features, usually on Monday evenings, was ‘Headlines’. During this segment, he would display a range of actual newspaper headlines, as well as ads or other similar excerpts, (more…)