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Joe Pairman
Jan 713 min read
Communicating against the odds
Humans can get through to each other in unlikely situations. When the fog of work makes listening hard, how can we do the same?
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Joe Pairman
Dec 11, 20249 min read
How to prepare a presentation (and does it need a script?)
Why presenting is nothing like normal speaking, and how to make it natural.
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Joe Pairman
Nov 19, 202412 min read
Can a message be interesting without a reward?
How to keep the attention of your audience through sheer curiosity, when there’s no direct reward for them.
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Joe Pairman
Oct 18, 20246 min read
How to beat writer’s blocks at work (exclusive guide for members)
Do you ever get stuck writing something at work? You are not alone. These remedies help beat the blocks, whatever their cause.
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Joe Pairman
Oct 5, 20246 min read
Colleagues will pay attention; you just have to show them WHY
Communication is good; collaboration is good; persuading people is good (or at least necessary sometimes). And so you try...
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Joe Pairman
Sep 1, 20246 min read
The Word is Not Enough
Words aren’t neat signals, decoded at the end. They’re just clues in a game — a game that leaders need to know.
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Joe Pairman
Aug 1, 20243 min read
Do your colleagues “hear whatever they want?”
Listeners and readers create new meaning, sparked by your words.
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Joe Pairman
Jul 2, 20247 min read
Redundant language — fluff, or cultural bridge?
Tight writing is good. Repetitious writing can waste time. But “redundant words” can also help your message get across, building trust and clarifying meaning.
36 views0 comments

Joe Pairman
Jun 1, 20245 min read
Tell them what you’re going to BORE them?!
To give your audience all they need, keep something back. Engaging communication starts with an information gap.
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Joe Pairman
May 1, 202418 min read
Anxious about your writing? Trust your tongue more than “grammar rules”
To focus our audience on our message, we should trust our tongue more than grammar guides.
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Joe Pairman
Mar 31, 20243 min read
An engineer got his white paper unstuck by figuring out the story
Do you ever get stuck writing in an unfamiliar format? Drop the template for a while and concentrate on saying something interesting.
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Joe Pairman
Feb 22, 20246 min read
Need help from a colleague? Paint them a picture.
Here’s a trick to make your work messages work: imagine you’re painting a dramatic picture.
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Joe Pairman
Jan 1, 20242 min read
How do curious leaders make teams think?
An curious-minded director kept her team improving and growing.
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Joe Pairman
Dec 31, 20233 min read
Real leaders really listen
How poor listening can get inexperienced leaders into trouble (and how to fix it)
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Joe Pairman
Dec 1, 20238 min read
Skim-Reading Less Helps our Teams and our Time
Skimming has a hidden cost — here’s how to retrain our brains to avoid it.
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Joe Pairman
Nov 1, 20238 min read
Leaders need to read beyond a bullet point or three
Over-simplifying messages makes work more complicated. Let’s write and read with more attention.
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Joe Pairman
Oct 1, 20237 min read
Nice Managers Force Priorities
To let your team succeed, setting priorities is so useful, so obvious, and so often neglected.
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Joe Pairman
Sep 1, 20235 min read
Writing is really listening
Writing feels a bit like listening, and if I’m aware of it as listening, it helps me write better.
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Joe Pairman
Aug 1, 20238 min read
Present complex points simply – a full example (for members)
Sometimes you need to convey a complex point in few words. Here’s how I reworked an over-simplistic message to clearly carry nuance.
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Joe Pairman
Jul 1, 20238 min read
Serve your stakeholders’ NEEDS, not their wants
To help your stakeholders and customers most, understand their underlying needs and their Jobs To Be Done.
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