Archive: Communication

Being Persuasive: Asking for Less can Lead to More

Aug 20, 2019 | Communication, Managing, Persuasion

People eager to have their request approved often make the mistake of asking for too much at the start. Asking for less initially often leads to a better result. Let’s say you want management to approve a costly new training program. Rather than ask for the full...

Choosing a Point of View: Be Consistent

Aug 12, 2019 | Communication, Persuasion

People often begin reading a message and suddenly pause, uncertain who is speaking. Is this written from the writer’s perspective, or someone else’s, perhaps the company’s? The issue is point of view, a literary term that applies to any type of...

Should You Write the Way You Talk? To a Degree.

Jul 30, 2019 | Communication, Effective Writing, Managing

Many people have heard the advice “write the way you talk” so as to sound conversational in a written message, but an important clarification is missing from that advice. Conversational speech is terribly inefficient, so be sure to edit carefully to make...

Use Vivid Language to Persuade People to Accept Your Idea

Jun 11, 2019 | Communication, Effective Writing, Managing, Persuasion

To persuade someone to comply with your request, use specific details, not vague statistics. Vivid description enables people to “see.” Your point is more compelling when you present the audience with information that has imagery, because people can...

How Managers can Provide Effective Feedback

Jun 6, 2019 | Communication, Managing

Feedback conversations are often stressful but don’t need to be. They can be instructive and motivational when managers come prepared. Supervisors often are filled with anxiety leading up to a feedback session, because they are uncertain about what to say, they...

Gathering Quality Information Requires Good Questions

Jun 3, 2019 | Communication, Effective Writing

Interviewing skills are not the domain only of reporters, police officers, or job recruiters. The ability to ask good questions is important for all business professionals, because the quality of the answers will depend on the questions. We ask questions every day...

By Ken O’Quinn

Focus on Them

As a contributing author in this book on leadership, Ken offers insights and tips for managing difficult conversations, providing effective feedback, and being authentic. Order here.

Perfect Phrases for Business Letters (McGraw-Hill)

Provides the right words and phrases for any situation - quickly. The book was reprinted in Japanese because of high-volume sales there.

TD at Work — Business Writing for Managers

The Association for Talent Development invited Ken to write this 22-page booklet for the TD at Work series.

Current Blog Post

Writing to Persuade: Where You Should Position Your Best Option
March 18, 2021
Positioning information can be an important factor when you are trying to persuade