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Don Heymann - Clear & Persuasive Written Communications

Don Heymann

Clear & Persuasive Written Communications

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Cultural Communication

Verbal Hide & Seek: Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are!

May 20, 2014 by Don Heymann 3 Comments

I feel the same way about the F words “facilitate” and “foster.” Could there be any two words that are more convoluted and vague? Why are these words so commonly used today when just 10 years ago, they were hardly used at all?

Filed Under: Cultural Communication Tagged With: adjunct professor nyu, business writing, culture, don heymann, plain language, trust and transparency, writing

Occupy: From Housewives to Wall Street

April 1, 2014 by Don Heymann 1 Comment

If you’ve ever thought about how fast our language – and therefore our culture – is changing, you only need a handful of random examples to prove the point. Writers, especially, must be keenly sensitive to these changes to remain relevant, or risk being dismissed outright.

Filed Under: Cultural Communication Tagged With: business writing, clear communication, creating mental pictures

Get ’Em On Your Side: Framing Part Deux

March 11, 2014 by Don Heymann 2 Comments

The marketers of processed food and beverages, as well as alcohol and tobacco, have understood the framing challenge very well. Minimizing the health threats of their products, they reframed the issue as a defense of the public’s “right” to smoke and drink…and to feed junk food to their kids. “Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” is the common refrain. It’s a matter of choice, freedom and responsibility.

Filed Under: Cultural Communication Tagged With: creating mental pictures, culture, repetitive communications, story telling

10 Reasons to Avoid Writing Top 10 Lists

April 29, 2013 by Don Heymann 7 Comments

Basically, enough already. We’re saturated with top 10 (or top 5) reasons to do something. I don’t know about you, but I’m inundated, and I hardly bother to look at them anymore, unless the headline is unavoidably compelling, which is rare.

Filed Under: Cultural Communication Tagged With: business writing, clear communication, story telling, the danger of euphemisms, trust and transparency

Petraeus, Eisenhower, Miles Davis and the Power of Modesty

December 13, 2012 by Don Heymann 10 Comments

A couple of opinion columns recently focused on how leaders of the U.S. military present themselves these days – relentlessly wearing, for too many occasions, dress uniforms bedecked with the “fruit salad” of ribbons and award…

Filed Under: Cultural Communication Tagged With: clear communication, detail, plain language, precise language

Are You A Foamer Or A Piker? Metaphors Matter.

September 11, 2012 by Don Heymann 4 Comments

metapor-fish

Metaphors may be a writer’s best tool, primarily because they create a vivid mental picture, sometimes worth more than a thousand words.

Filed Under: Cultural Communication Tagged With: clear communication, mental pictures, metaphors

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About Don

Don Heymann - Communications WriterDon Heymann launched his business in 1985, drawing on his broad communications experience as a writer, consultant, corporate official and agency executive.

Learn more about Don…

Recent Blog Posts

COVID 19 pandemic

The end of marketing as we know it? Lessons from the pandemic

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The Potency of Words. Size Matters.

Sometimes It Pays To Be Ignorant.

Simple and Specific: The Key to Understanding in Your Writing

Keeping it real: Writing that’s trustworthy and credible

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