It probably comes under the law of unintended consequences, but apparently Google allows people to think they’re cleverer than they are. This is because someone believes they know the answer to something; but they don’t. They know they can look up the answer – and confuse that with thinking they’re smart. There’s a big difference. … Continue reading A reminder re ChatGPT…you don’t hire a hammer, you hire a carpenter
Category Archives: Metaphor
From your business point of view – how do you see the wood from the trees? That is, when there’s many different ways you could tell the world about what you do or sell, and why this is important, how do you narrow it down to one message? It’s blimmin difficult. It’s also why it’s … Continue reading Unearthing a business first story…seeing the wood from the trees
The words we use and the stories we tell ourselves really matter. None more so that when we’re talking about this third rock from the sun that we inhabit. So, if our government (and the world for that matter) is going to do more than merely mouth platitudes around saving our planet, then our future … Continue reading Reframing our future
Amid the sound and fury of the recent American elections, an eloquent acceptance speech by Joe Biden was missed by many. Unlike the bombastic ‘us versus them’ utterances of Donald Trump, Biden’s speech was a uniting ‘we’ – paraphrased from a term he used in it talking about the ‘Soul of America’. It contained a … Continue reading Some little lessons in rhetorical oratory
Finland has a National Day of Failure. Yes, seriously…and as a country we often compare ourselves to, is it an idea we should embrace? For the past 10 years, October 13 is celebrated for failure, because (not unlike New Zealand?), screwing up is frowned upon by Finnish society. It was started by university students who … Continue reading Should we have a National Day of Failure?
The great temptation is to add more to our business narrative. We’re afraid that if we don’t mention every last little additional detail, we’ll fail to attract the last little potential customer. That’s like adding bling to an elegant suit – detracting and self-defeating Simple is better because extra is superfluous. This is because a … Continue reading Simple stories are simply better business
How do you counter bullshit? Around the world, attacking such hoaxes head on has repeatedly been shown to be hopeless, counterproductive. Well, there’s lessons for all of us in the way Taiwan’s dealing to Coronavirus misinformation. Instead of tackling fake news directly, the 23 million people country, (one of the few to have shoved the … Continue reading Fighting Covid fake news by being funny
Messaging and stories are going to be a key element of snuffing out Coronavirus over what will be a tricky target. Somewhere, but most likely spread, a bevy of government communications people are creating messages. You can’t envy their job. It’s no easy thing to nail important ideas so that all of us understand and … Continue reading ‘Stay home, save lives’ misses an opportunity to increase its impact – ‘Omne trium perfectum’
One of the roles in Toastmasters (I’m in Wellington’s Collider group) is Grammarian. I had that function recently and was asked to introduce the word ‘lexophile’, an expression I’d never heard of before. A lexophile is a lover of words, finding enjoyment in word play, anagrams, palindromes and the like. While researching the term, not … Continue reading A lexophile…probably many worse afflictions to suffer from!
A brand name by association can be a useful thing. Which is where Duckworth Lewis Accommodation has been clever in its nomenclature. This boarding house (formerly a pub) could’ve called itself Adelaide Road, Te Aro, Hospital Visitor Accommodation, or any number of lesser names. But, being located right beside The Basin Reserve (the home of … Continue reading A brand name that many will get…though some will go ‘huh’?