AM-FM: A Formula for High-Context Virtual Communications

With all the time you spend online, wouldn’t it be nice if you could communicate more in ways that don’t leave you feeling that you sold out, stooping to the lowest common denominator?  I’m talking to you – high-context communicator.  How can you feel more authentic, real, in your virtual communications? The high-context virtual communications […]

Writing tips for storytelling from Billy Wilder

Summer is always a good time to vary perspective.   On the book front this summer, “Conversations With Wilder“, by Cameron Crowe, offered me some new perspectives on story. Billy Wilder (1906-2002) was a legendary Hollywood movie writer and director. (Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like it Hot, The Apartment and many more). Conversations with […]

3 Preconditions for Effective Communications

Ever reached out, across the virtual divide, and found your communications efforts less than stellar?  (Yep.)   Somehow, the conversation seems to have barely begun, before the scene deteriorates and communications fall apart.   Puzzled as to why things unfolded that way?   Maybe, the conditions weren’t in-place to begin with, for effective communications to […]

Communicating With Your Audience in Their Culture

To communicate effectively we need to already have some areas of commonness between us.  Culture is one of those areas.   When facilitating virtual teams or in local cross-cultural contexts, I sometimes underestimate the differences between cultures.  It’s easy to auto-pilot into my culture’s way of doing things.  And, that’s not always a good thing. […]