The psychology of storytelling
Read moreMy post from two weeks ago “How personal storytelling builds trust with listeners” (dated 17 February), drew a number of reactions from readers. For example, one person requested that I explain in more detail the psychology of storytelling. Specifically, she asked, how do personal stories build trust with audiences? A second question that caught my attention concerned the discourse of victorious candidate Donald
Is sport such a poor metaphor for management?
Read moreThese days, when I sit down to write a blog post, there are two somewhat surprising threads running simultaneously through my mind. Why am I surprised by the topics holding my attention these days? Quite simply, and as I have written before, it would have been difficult to predict one year ago that politics and sports would be themes for my blog
How personal storytelling builds trust with listeners
Read moreIn a post two weeks ago, I put forth my view that, during the entire campaign, Hillary Clinton missed a multitude of opportunities to get her personal stories out to the world. Today, I would like to focus on why it would have been a good idea to integrate personal storytelling into her discourse. As I have written previously, I
Can sports teach us anything worthwhile about business?
Read moreYesterday, I was reflecting a bit on how surprising one’s life can be. For example, if anyone had asked me five years ago to list all the issues I might be writing about in 2017, two of the last things I would have thought about would have been politics and American football. As we have seen, recent political events have
Why is personal narrative so important in politics?
Read moreFor me as a blogger, the American presidential election and its aftermath have become a gift that just keeps on giving. When I watch my hour of CNN International each day (usually Anderson Cooper or Fareed Zakaria), there is always something surprising and noteworthy: a nomination, executive order, protest, or other “situation” unfolding in the United States. From my perspective,
But can he run a country?
Read moreThere is a scene near the beginning of the movie Invictus in which a newly-elected President Nelson Mandela leaves home for his morning walk, accompanied by two of his bodyguards.As the three men stride briskly through the empty, pre-dawn streets, Mr Mandela’s protectors scan the surroundings nervously, conscious of the danger for the first black leader of their deeply troubled, divided nation. Suddenly, a