Skip to content

Data states, writing illuminates

    2022-05-02 Effective writing tells a story

    Writers block at work? Learn from tech authors’ struggles and successes.

    In a recent survey, 69 tech writers said they often experience “blocked” periods of time when it’s difficult to write.

    Continue reading

    2021-06-30 Oh, the productivity

    Could more words help your presentations? (video)

    Slides often seem to collect undigested information. Could sentence headers help? Sentences require verbs, which force us to say something

    Continue reading

    2021-05-31 Oh, the productivity

    How writing straightens out your decision frame (video)

    It seems that writing our rationale for a decision helps us make that decision objectively. What evidence is there for

    Continue reading

    2021-05-17 Oh, the productivity

    How does the framing effect warp our business decisions? (video)

    The way that options are presented shapes the choice we make. Even insurance professionals take more or less risk depending on the way a situation is framed. Is there a way to make more grounded decisions?

    2020-12-29 Effective writing tells a story / Oh, the productivity

    For insights at work, hold your nerve and pay attention (post moved)

    By paying more attention to important signals, we can understand them better, and glimpse their unsaid meanings too. But we’ll have to slow down – to hold our nerve like a value investor, or patiently wait as if with a passive index.

    2020-08-03 Oh, the productivity

    Take notes as online help for your creative future self

    What do you do with your new ideas? The connections and sparks that pop to mind when you’re in the shower; in a presentation; on a bus.

    2020-05-17 Effective writing tells a story

    You’ve been had. The passive voice was never bad. (Post moved.)

    “Avoid it”, the style guides write, “unless you really know what you are doing”. The implication is you don’t.

    2020-05-10 Templates & tags help authors

    Minor Semantics

    Microsoft Word now puts its wiggly line under two spaces in a row. A lot of people are happy, and I’m happy that they’re happy, because maybe “semantic authoring” in a small sense is taking root.

    2017-12-04 Aboutness first, format second

    Modern metadata through a DITA lens

    Modern ways of using metadata connect groups, countries, and organizations. Structured content such as DITA XML provides powerful ways to work with this metadata, but also challenges.

    2017-09-28 Effective writing tells a story

    Why “Minimalism” doesn’t mean “plain writing”

    John Carroll’s sound instructional principles became known as Minimalism — a term that would frequently be mistaken for the idea of just writing less.

    Posts navigation

    1 2 3 Next Posts»
    I'm posting now at Do The Words, on how writing helps you think, listen, and lead.
    Not posting here any more but keeping the site up, as a few of the posts are still popular and hopefully useful.
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn

    Subscribe in a reader

    Create a website or blog at WordPress.com
    • Follow Following
      • Data states, writing illuminates
      • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
      • Data states, writing illuminates
      • Customize
      • Follow Following
      • Sign up
      • Log in
      • Report this content
      • View site in Reader
      • Manage subscriptions
      • Collapse this bar
     

    Loading Comments...