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JD Solomon
Nov 29, 20223 min read
8 Tips for Facilitating Public Workshops and Comment Sessions
Facilitating public workshops and comment sessions are typically conducted by public-sector organizations. These sessions are intended to...
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JD Solomon
Nov 10, 20223 min read
Facilitation Lessons Learned: One Board, Four Board Retreats, and Four Formats
Facilitators seldom have the opportunity to use four formats with the same board of directors for four consecutive years. Blame it on...
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JD Solomon
Nov 2, 20222 min read
How to Communicate with FINESSE in Information Sessions
There was a lot to unpack from the 45-minute information session. After all, three different governmental units evaluated the issue for...
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JD Solomon
Oct 26, 20222 min read
Telling Your Story Produces Relaxed Communication, Effective Technical Presentations
As trusted advisors, technical professionals stand on the data first. Telling the story of the data overpowers most of our communication...
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JD Solomon
Oct 18, 20223 min read
Three Things Every Trusted Advisor Should Know to Communicate with FINESSE
Making a decision requires an irrevocable allocation of resources. In a world full of complexity and uncertainty, decision makers turn to...
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JD Solomon
Oct 13, 20222 min read
How Three Groups Communicate Their Roles Through One Guiding Graphic
Resilience – the ability of communities, economies, and ecosystems within South Carolina to anticipate, absorb, recover, and thrive when...
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JD Solomon
Oct 12, 20222 min read
How to Force Uncertainty to Respond (and Improve Communication)
Communicating strategic decisions is a long game. And the long game consists of complexity (many interrelated parts) and uncertainty (not...
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JD Solomon
Oct 10, 20222 min read
A Classic Example of Public Speaking, Noise Reduction, and The Three-Act Structure
I was pleasantly surprised to find a great example of the three-act structure at a recent Young Professional forum where I was speaking....
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CWF
Oct 7, 20221 min read
Communicate with FINESSE by Speaking to Everyone in the Same Way
Many frequently cited quotes are attributed to Albert Einstien, including, "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."...
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JD Solomon
Oct 6, 20223 min read
Possibly the Worst PowerPoint Slide I Have Ever Seen
Well, maybe not the absolute worst because I have seen some bad ones. But this one is in the Top 10. Good Intentions This slide was part...
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JD Solomon
Sep 30, 20222 min read
Replace “You” with “We” in Your Presentations
Listen closely the next time a technical specialist or a self-proclaimed expert delivers a presentation. The chances are good that they...
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JD Solomon
Sep 28, 20223 min read
Improve Your Communication of Rare Events After They Happen
Low-likelihood, high-consequence (“rare”) events present special challenges for effective communication. Pre-event plans are often well...
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JD Solomon
Sep 26, 20222 min read
Three Indicators of a Rare Event to Help Your Communication Strategy
The high-consequence, low-likelihood nature of rare events makes them unexpectedly and disproportionately impactful. Rare events can...
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CWF
Sep 24, 20221 min read
Start with Communicating with FINESSE
Where to start a new journey is the most important question. The Communicating with FINESSE fishbone diagram provides a proven starting...
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JD Solomon
Sep 23, 20221 min read
Ask a Question (avoid making a statement)
There is nothing more powerful than a good question. It provokes deeper thought by the receiver. It demonstrates your empathy for what...
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JD Solomon
Sep 12, 20224 min read
Risk Matrices Fail Because You Fail to Communicate Effectively
The consequence/likelihood matrix (also referred to as a risk matrix or heat map) is a way to display risks according to their...
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John Parker
Sep 7, 20222 min read
Your Career Will Rise or Fall on These 3 Tips for Communicating with Senior Executives
Having a conversation or presenting to senior-level executives and acquiring their time to do so can be very difficult. I would like to...
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JD Solomon
Sep 6, 20224 min read
Communicating Inflation and Escalation Will Make or Break Your Career
Current project managers and decision makers have not grown up in an era of rising construction escalation and economic inflation. The...
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JD Solomon
Sep 2, 20223 min read
Communicate Your Results at the Beginning of Your Business Presentation
Start with the conclusion. No build-up. No grand reveal. No details. Simply and concisely state the conclusion. This is the message that...
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JD Solomon
Aug 30, 20221 min read
Guest Articles on Communicating with FINESSE in August
Check out the great insights on communicating technical information to decision makers from the Communicating with FINESSE community. ...
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