Archive for the 'Language' Category

Gabrielle Giffords’ mentor, Robert Reich, has said that he believed Gabby would be the first or second female president of the United States. She was a rising star in the Democratic Party and much loved by her constituents in Tucson. Now she is fighting for her life. No one can make sense of such a [...]

This year, 2010, marks the centennial year of the death of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (a.k.a., Mark Twain). It is also his 175th birthday and the 125th anniversary of the American publication of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It’s a big year for Twain, and I’m sure he’s bummed that he’s not here.
But there’s no need to [...]

I once knew a man who had such a serious problem with mumbling that everyone called him ‘Mumbles.’ He spoke in his own private language, sounding as if his mouth was filled with a mixture of peanut butter, guacamole, and oatmeal. Sometimes you could understand the beginning of his sentence, but by the time he [...]

Industries have acronyms.  Corporations have even more.  It’s engrained in their cultures.
But do you know all the acronyms at your company?  Or do you sometimes pretend you do because you don’t want to appear stupid?
If you’re a manager, what messages are you sending to your reports if you don’t speak up when you don’t understand [...]

I had a “business as usual” blog ready to post today, but I can’t in good conscience pretend that business is usual right now.
Today is day 50 of the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history. As I write this, 50,932,978 gallons and counting of crude oil are pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. The toxic [...]

In August, I wrote a blog about hippie-era slang that coincided with the 40th anniversary of Woodstock . I explained how speech has always been a principle medium for cultures to define and differentiate themselves. Today, it is clear to linguists and laymen alike that people are incorporating language that reflects their online activity into [...]

As a communications professional, I believe that an apology is one of the most difficult forms of public speaking. I define the apology as an acknowledgment by the wrongdoer of misconduct that is offered to the offended party in exchange for reconciliation. Admitting to a transgression against another allows those involved to either grow stronger [...]

We’ve all seen speakers who seem to know exactly how to get an audience energized. These speakers have an effortless, intuitive sense that enables them to keep a connection with any audience. And they often use powerful questioning techniques to help them prompt audience involvement.

I recently worked with a writer who was preparing to interview a well-known artist at a retrospective honoring his decades-long contribution to the world of crafts. The interview was set up much like Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton, where the interviewer and interviewee are on a large stage. The audience was made up [...]

In my last blog post I made a reference to the phrase, “right on” as having appeared in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. I’ve received dozens of inquires from interested readers who want to know who spoke this phrase, so here it is: