Newspaper columnists
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Communication skills
“Lack of communication leaves fear and doubt.” ~Kellan Lutz Lately I’ve been thinking about communication — and what makes good communication. I’m an over-communicator by nature and by trade. After college, I had publishing jobs that required a lot of meetings and follow-up phone calls. Later, as a newspaper columnist, my career was all about talking to people in print. (Early in my marriage, one of my in-laws told me I “talk too much.”) But after years of living among both chatterboxes and quiet people, I’m much more comfortable with the chatterboxes. While some folks believe it’s safer to say less — or nothing — silence doesn’t help build relationships.…
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Knock, knock …. Who’s there?
“Not every person or opportunity that knocks on the door of your life should be let in.” ~Meggan Roxanne, Kushandwizdom.com In my early days of freelancing, new writers were advised to accept nearly any project that came our way. We had to build a portfolio and create a brand. Sometimes that meant writing free articles or giving free talks at local events. Occasionally, it advanced my career. But most of the time it only benefited the editors, publishers, and organizations with small budgets. Later, when I became a regular newspaper columnist, I was encouraged to answer all the mail I received from readers, which I did to please my editors.…
