Saying More With Less: 4 Ways Grammatical Metaphor Improves Writing

Young children often write as they speak. But the way we speak and the way we write isn’t quite the same. When we speak, we often use many...

Imagine you have to say an unfamiliar name and are afraid to say it wrong. What do you do? Do you try to pronounce it even at the risk of getting it wrong or do you avoid the name (and perhaps the person) altogether? 

Depending on your culture, you are probably used to greeting someone with a handshake, hug or nose bump. Well, not any more.

There’s been a lot of talk lately. In briefings, speeches and video meetings. With the holidays coming, there will be celebrations and toasts given. These are opportunities to attend to talk. In talk, it’s not just words that create meaning.

Marcus Aurelius was no stranger to pandemics. For 16 years of his reign as Roman Emperor (161-180 CE), the empire was ravaged by the Antonine plague, which took five million lives. It was during this period that the philosopher king penned a series of “notes to himself”.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the world, politicians, medical experts and epidemiologists have taught us about flattening curves, contact tracing, R₀ and growth factors. At the same time, we are facing an “infodemic” – an overload of information, in which fact is hard to separate from fiction.

Across Canada, COVID-19 infection rates are climbing amid the coronavirus’s second wave. Since a short flattening of the curve in the summer, transmission has continued to rise, particularly among young people

After a fairly relaxed summer, more and more places are bringing back tighter restrictions in response to rising COVID-19 cases, with some even returning to full or near-full lockdowns.

Anyone who tried to get their head around the financial crisis of 2008 soon found themselves drowning in an alphabet soup of BEITs, CDOs, CDCs, ETFs and MBS.

You wear your mask, keep six feet between yourself and others and are committed to safety. But the measures that help minimize your risk of COVID-19 can also have an impact on your interactions with others.

We may think that because of the development of the ability to see and hear into the far reaches of space that we must be quite advanced in the field of communication. But all this has little effect on our ability to listen with our heart...

Men have long been recognised as being most at risk of suicide, but the Office for National Statistics recently reported the highest annual rate of female suicides in the UK since 2004.

A white man shares publicly that a group of Black Harvard graduates “look like gang members to me” and claims he would have said the same of white people dressed similarly.

There is strong scientific evidence that wearing a mask reduces the risk of transmitting the coronavirus and cuts down the risk of infection to the wearer by as much as 65%. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recommend wearing them.

There’s a good chance that you when you leave the house today you’ll put on a face mask that obscures your mouth.

With COVID-19, a news story that may be 100% accurate can still unintentionally mislead readers about the greatest threats of the pandemic.

Multiple studies have shown that masks reduce the transmission of virus-loaded droplets from people with COVID-19. However, according to a Gallup poll, almost a third of Americans say they rarely or never wear a mask in public.

Human faces are arguably the most important things we see. We are quick to detect them in any scene, and they command our attention.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned an infodemic, a vast and complicated mix of information, misinformation and disinformation.

Why do we hold back from telling our loved ones that we love them? Why do we procrastinate, waiting for the "right" time ... later ... when it may be too late? But life goes by in a heartbeat and, before we know it, the ones we love are gone, and we may be left with the regret that we never spoke our deepest truth.

As people navigate a masked world, they’ll need to focus more on the eyes and voice to connect with those around them, a psychologist argues.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram started out as a way to connect with friends, family and people of interest. But anyone on social media these days knows it’s increasingly a divisive landscape.

The COVID-19 crisis has changed the way many of us work. With the switch to working from home, in particular, a fundamental workplace behaviour has gone by the wayside.

Have you ever forgotten something – a name, a place, an event – and struggled to remember, finally giving up, only to have an "ah ah" moment some time later, suddenly recalling what evaded your recollection, maybe in the shower, or driving, or daydreaming by the window, watching the rain?

You’re walking on a public footpath when a jogger overtakes you from behind, well inside the recommended two-metre physical distance.

Allowing the Fierce Feminine to have Her voice creates a lot of waves and surprises! We must realize that by speaking Her voice, we will be challenging the core of those around us.

It’s not just intimate partnerships that are destroyed by not being able to resolve conflict. Business associates, neighbors, friends, and colleagues are affected as well. In each case we have a choice when conflicts arise. We can fight, give in, deny, and avoid, or we can cooperate, collaborate, negotiate, and accommodate.

Have you ever listened? I mean truly listened? Qui­eted your mind and surrendered all self-concern and given yourself completely to another person so that he or she is fully heard? If you’re really honest, the answer is likely no.

When children raise uncomfortable questions or questions that seem to have no answers, adults tend to respond with explanations that try to resolve the issue, at least temporarily.

What’s colloquially known as “bullshit” occurs when people make statements with no regard for the truth, and unfortunately, it is more prevalent than ever.

As the COVID-19 pandemic forces many U.S. colleges and universities to move their courses online, connecting online via video is now having its moment.

Social isolation is hardly a new experience for many older people. If there is one silver lining to the current pandemic it may be that people of all ages are now in a position to gain empathetic insight into what was already daily life for many older people living on their own.

Universities across Canada and the world have been working to rapidly move their face-to-face classes to remote delivery.

The medical evidence is clear: The coronavirus global health threat is not an elaborate hoax. Bill Gates did not create the coronavirus to sell more vaccines

Communicating has never been so easy; we can to send messages and texts to friends and strangers in an instant from a variety of platforms. 

In an age of deepfakes and alternative facts, it can be tricky getting at the truth. But persuading others – or even yourself – what is true is not a challenge unique to the modern era.

Romantic love is a complex emotion thought to have ancient roots in human evolution, and associated with the need to pair-bond in stable relationships.

People say they want everyone to have cool heads and polite exchanges of views, even during important political debates.

Here’s something fascinating about stories that recount a major change of heart.

Philosophical discussions, whether in a professional setting or at the bar, frequently consist of calling out mistakes in whatever has been proposed: ‘This is all very well, but …

“Relationship” can be defined as “a state of connectedness between two or more energies through a physical or a non-physical space.” Everything exists or happens in relationship to something else. Nothing exists or happens in isolation.

What if you could do something that would help restore memories in some of the people you love?

Christmas is a stressful time for many, so not surprisingly it’s also known as the season for arguments.

The question often is, "How can I call it quits with my partner in a constructive way?" First, end a relationship because you are following your inner knowing, not because you’re in the midst of an argument, emotional meltdown, or have specific topics that need resolution.

How can you talk about the science behind climate change with relatives who are disengaged, doubtful, or dismissive of it at holidays?

A new study on sex-based discrimination toward women in the workplace documents the plusses and minuses of male allies.

Has this happened to you? You strike up a conversation with a complete stranger, only to discover that you share surprising connections

We live in a society in which inequality is entrenched and increasing – in this context, words can have real and pernicious effects. This is particularly true of the way we speak about inequality itself.

At a time when public debate around the world is suffering from a collision between facts and “alternative facts”, experts must find new ways to reach people.

On any given day we're lied to from 10 to 200 times, and the clues to detect those lie can be subtle and counter-intuitive.

To build up your courage for those really difficult "no's," start small. Practice saying no in non-threatening encounters where there isn't much at stake. Little by little, stretch yourself by saying no in more challenging circumstances.

Argument is everywhere. From the kitchen table to the boardroom to the highest echelons of power, we all use argument to persuade, investigate new ideas, and make collective decisions.

Using politically incorrect speech can help people appear more authentic, according to new research.

|Giving advice may actually benefit the advice-giver, according to new research.

When we speak, our sentences emerge as a flowing stream of sound. Unless we are really annoyed.

One of the interesting questions we face as philosophers who are attempting to make philosophical ideas accessible for a general audience, is whether or not everyone can or should ‘do philosophy’.

Empathy is everywhere. In many ways, empathy is the social glue that holds everybody together. Empathy is a social experience that involves feeling external emotional energy to the point of mirroring an emotion and taking it into one’s own experience.

The universality of a good story serves to demonstrate that we’re not so different from our counterparts across the globe, which in turn prompts us to empathize with the “other” to the extent that we will eventually feel as the “other”; thus, respect and empathy are the inevitable by-products of this process.

In a manifesto posted online shortly before he went on to massacre 22 people at an El Paso Walmart, Patrick Crusius cited the “invasion” of Texas by Hispanics.

Ever relied on an online review to make a purchasing decision? How do you know it was actually genuine?

Last summer the World Economic Forum (WEF) invited its 1,500 council members to identify top trends facing the world, including what should be done about them.

In a world deeply divided, how do we have hard conversations with nuance, curiosity, respect?

Are you ever around women who seem frustrated, upset or irritated? Have you ever asked one of them if she was on her period or perhaps been tempted to inquire?

It may surprise you to learn that things that we typically think of as “objects” or “things” have consciousness, spirit, a life force or intelligence that can be felt, sensed, and communicated with. We know through quantum physics that there is intelligence, consciousness, and awareness in and through everything…

We can effortlessly get lost in emotions socially, so it’s both wise and courageous to hone the ability of shifting between emo­tional and mental communication with others. Let’s explore a few methods for us to keep in mind when braving the necessity of human communication.

First, let’s establish why we would want to talk to animals. People all have their own reasons, but essentially, it can help to answer a lot of important questions, not only for you but for the animal, too. It also raises your awareness of all animals collectively. We need to learn to honor all creatures, no matter how insignificant they seem to us.

Email and smart phones can be stressful. Academics are calling this constant work connection “technostress”. Consequently, many European countries are now offering employees the “right to disconnect”.

What with Facetime, Skype, Whatsapp and Snapchat, for many people, face-to-face conversation is used less and less often.

We usually interpret someone looking us straight in the eye during an interaction as a sign of trustworthiness. In fact it can be rather unsettling when someone avoids eye contact.

• Give yourself permission to say "no" to things. Saying yes to everything is a fast way to burn out. • Learn to say no in a way that keeps the door of opportunity open: No should never be a one-word

We tend to savor certain specific types of meaningful conversations, according to new research.

Have you ever worried in your student years or later in life that time may be starting to run out to achieve your goals?

There is nothing wrong with setting goals, making plans, and then moving into action! Having a sense of direction and actively moving forward in that direction are essential if you want to make a meaningful difference in the world. However, telling life what it has to be and then doing whatever it takes to make that happen can significantly limit our possibilities. It can also lead to a lot of unnecessary pressure and stress.

Today, I am committed to spending every day that Charlie and I are together being kind, caring, considerate and loving. There has been enough pain, fear, and suffering. I am determined to see how much beauty and love I can create. And every day, I say a prayer of gratitude for having my life, my health, a devoted husband, my children, grandchildren, friends, and work that I love.

I am not known for being especially easy to get hold of via text. I tend to keep my phone on silent as the high-pitched ping of an incoming message makes my cheeks flush with dread.

The truth is that a human being cannot exist as an island. We cannot thrive alone. We don’t want to be excluded. The truth is, we desperately want to belong to each other. And the highest truth of all is that in a universe where oneness is the highest truth of all, there is nothing in this universe that we don’t belong with and there is nothing in existence that doesn’t belong with us.

In the current polarized climate, it’s easy to find yourself in the midst of a political disagreement that morphs into a religious argument.

This past year, many people deleted their social media accounts following revelations about privacy violations on social media platforms and other concerns related to hate speech.

English has achieved prime status by becoming the most widely spoken language in the world – if one disregards proficiency

Many of my best friends think that some of my deeply held beliefs about important issues are obviously false or even nonsense.

From Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats to Ronald Reagan’s reputation as the “great communicator” to Barack Obama’s soaring oratory to Donald Trump’s Twitter use, styles of presidential communication have varied over time.

If we could listen to ourselves as we converse, we would probably be astounded at how often we speak mindlessly. We are so taken up with being the speaker that, quite innocently perhaps, we make insensitive comments, speak inaccurately, or talk too much, hardly aware...

One of the key lessons in my Life Coach Training Program is the technique of reframing, taking a situation that seems daunting and finding another way to look at it that is empowering.

It’s always wonderful to share happy news – in person and on social media. New jobs, weddings and becoming parents of healthy children are all commonly posted online, and often gather lots of encouraging comments and congratulations.

Argument and debate form the cornerstones of civilised society and intellectual life. Processes of argumentation run our governments, structure scientific endeavour and frame religious belief. So should we worry that new advances in artificial intelligence are taking steps towards equipping computers with these skills?

Researchers have created an algorithm that analyzes social media posts to find linguistic markers for depression. In any given year, depression affects more than six percent of the adult population in the United States—some 16 million people—but fewer than half receive the treatment they need.

Consider how one should respond to a simple case of disagreement. Frank sees a bird in the garden and believes it’s a finch. Standing beside him, Gita sees the same bird, but she’s confident it’s a sparrow.

Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has been waging war against the American press by dismissing unfavorable reports as “fake news” and calling the media “the enemy of the American people.”

Both men and women have to learn to speak up in order to take charge of their lives and cultivate meaningful relationships! This applies to school, work, business, family, and social events. As scary as it can seem at first, I guarantee that speaking up will bring copious rewards and breakthrough moments.

A new model could help make college students working together in teams feel more included, according to a new paper.

Have you clicked through to this article from your news feed? Are you checking it on your phone? More of us are consuming news online, and increasingly we’re turning to social media for news. Social media platforms are now the main source of news for Australians aged 18 to 24.

When I moved into a rented cottage on Maui, Hawaii, some years ago, I found a little Russian Blue cat with gray fur and yellow eyes sitting on the porch staring at me. I learned that she was feral and that my neighbor Koa called her Pepper, and that she came by around the same time every day.

Many of our "life lessons" come to us through what we might usually call a "negative" experience, or possibly a "negative" person in our life. However, the addition of the term negative to any person or situation is simply a perception, or a judgment, on our part.

We spend much of our time talking about trivial matters and practical ones -- the weather, plans for the day, routine office events, frivolous gossip, the next technological miracle, etc. So little of our conversation addresses our passions, loves, emotions, dreams, or our creative insights...

Researchers have created a model to predict which civil online conversations might take a turn and derail. After analyzing hundreds of exchanges between Wikipedia editors, the researchers developed a computer program that scans for warning signs in participants’ language at the start of a conversation...

I was raised on “don’t hurt other people’s feelings — be nice.” The concept of setting personal boundaries was foreign to me... How could I tell her she had overstepped her boundaries?

I invite you to extend your circle of authentic conversations to include not just lovers, but people you encounter in situations that appear to be routine, boring, or mundane. A master teacher told me that one of the secrets of success is to “take whatcha got and make whatcha want.” 

After thirty-five years in private psychotherapy practice and decades of studying and teaching, I've found all good communication boils down to just four simple rules. Whether it's with our spouse, our kids or our boss, mastering these concepts will have us communicating with anyone about any topic, effectively and lovingly.

While the occurrence of sexist harassment online is well documented, we less often consider what might be driving this behavior

During negotiations, high-intensity anger elicits smaller concessions than moderate-intensity anger, a new study suggests.