Sources of Insight

Better Insights, Better Results

Communication

How To Write Better By Chunking Up Your Phrases

Have you ever had to wait too long for somebody to make a point? Their sentences run on but leave you hanging and you have to keep it all in your head to try and follow along. They make you work too hard to follow the information. Surprisingly, it's not how long the sentences are that make them complex. It's how long it takes to complete the phrases. We understand concepts phrase by phrase, not word by word. As an author, when you know this, you can write simpler and more effectively to make your points. As a reader, now you know why some writing is harder to follow than others.

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How Concession is Like Rhetorical Judo

How do you use your opponent’s argument to your own advantage? You use concession. My dictionary says that concession is "admitting of a point claimed in argument." You give a little to get a lot. One way to think of it is finding a way to agree. You can then use the agreement as a bridge to make your point. This works because you are letting your opponent score points. This also works because people like to be consistent with themselves. They don't want to backtrack on what they just agreed to. Concession also works because you seem flexible rather than dogmatic or rigid in your opinion. Most importantly, it indicates that you're listening. You validate them.

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How To Influence Without Authority

“If you were born with the ability to change someone’s perspective or emotions, never waste that gift. It is one of the most powerful gifts God can give—the ability to influence.” — nnon L. Alder I got some relevant training for today’s world.  The training was “Influencing without Authority” and it was based on the …

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Character Trumps Emotion Trumps Logic

“You cannot reason people out of a position that they did not reason themselves into.” ? Ben Goldacre If you need to be persuasive, you need to know this secret. It’s how people who influence without authority improve their effectiveness. The secret is character trumps emotion trumps logic. Win the Heart the Mind Follows If …

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Shift Tense to Resolve Conflict

"For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate." — Margaret Heffernan How can you improve conflict resolution?  Do you find yourself stuck in conflicts or arguments that go nowhere fast?  You know the ones, where the longer you argue, the more you spiral down.  If you don’t know the secret …

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