How do I make creativity my job?
Quite a few people have shared with me that they long for creativity to be their central, sustaining effort. My sense is that folks are feeling transactional and burned out in their current employment. Much of traditional work, and employer-employee relationships more generally, aren’t working for them. They’re looking for something more balanced, respectful, human-centred, […]
Finding the right writing tone
Finding the right tone for your writing can sometimes feel tricky, especially in professional contexts, and especially if you regularly switch your writing for different audiences or forms. Often advice about tone is focused on the intent of your writing, or your audience’s needs, or even the expectations around the writing genre or form. And […]
Thought Leadership for Knowledge Mobilization
We are inundated with mis- and dis-information, and this is why human-written, research-based thought leadership is crucial. Thought leadership from trusted experts helps us all make sense of how research can be beneficial. Data don’t speak for themselves. We need help understanding, interpreting, and figuring out what to do with it. Thought leadership is about […]
Don’t water down your ideas, lift them up
Nobody likes watery soup. Or coffee. Or hot chocolate. And it’s probably safe to say that nobody likes a watery learning opportunity. Or art. Or writing. But is it possible to make your teaching, art, writing, communication (you name it!) accessible and clear to people without watering down? If watering down ideas is something we […]
How and where to start writing
A client once shared with me that when she thinks about writing something new she feels dread. (yes, DREAD!) As a seasoned professional, internationally renowned with decades of experience under her belt, she uses writing as a regular part of her work – grant writing, project proposals, website copy, among so many other things. And […]
Should you think about your reader in your writing process?
What’s the best way to think about your reader when you’re in the middle of your writing process? Should you think about your reader? And if you should, how might you go about doing that? My short answer is: it depends. It depends a lot on the type of writing you are doing. To […]
Sometimes ‘less is more’ when designing a good presentation
I was chatting with a former student recently about giving a guest lecture. As a new grad student, he was in the throes of preparing to give his first and was asking for advice (so exciting!). My big overarching message to him: Less is more. For reals. I see a whole lotta “more is more” […]
Some Thoughts on Leaving Academia
Possibilities on The Other Side I get a lot of questions from folks considering leaving academia about what work will be like on The Other Side. The crux of what they seem to be asking is: “Will I continue to be independent? Will I have agency?” When I was contemplating leaving, these were some of […]
Why writing in one sitting can overwhelm you
(but you have options!) Imagine trying to cook a full-course meal in one go—without prepping ingredients, measuring anything, or even turning on the stove first. Overwhelming, right? The same can be said for writing. Maybe you know that writing is an awesome and powerful thing, but you also kind of dread it. And maybe you […]
Building Better Habits: it’s not all about you
The idea of developing good habits is de rigueur these days. Personally, I am a “general” fan of personal habits. I like some good predictability and structure in my days. I brush my teeth every morning, I get outside every day, I eat my veggies. Habits help me free up my thinking for more pressing […]
Design a session that will knock their socks off
You’ve been invited to give a guest lecture/workshop/presentation (yay!) but the prospect causes you to break into sweats (ack!). The good news is that people think highly of you and value your expertise – they have invited you to share your awesomeness! And the other good news is that you don’t have to cram all […]
Calling it Quits?
Some thoughts on decision-making, grit and knowing when to quit Quitting often gets a bad rap. We usually associate greatness with grit, stick-to-it-iveness, persistence. And of course, grit can be useful. But we often overlook the importance of knowing when and how to shift gears and steer towards a new path. Public thinker and former […]