Fun Play with Words

Knowing how to use words well is important. If someone is speaking to you and using words properly, you will assign more value to his or her words. Here's a fun site with various kinds of word play. For example, would you use the description slippery slope if you really meant a very muddy hillside, or has that phrase lost its literal meaning in favor of the more common metaphorical one? The site also lists some cliches you might want to avoid like the plague.

Death or Public Speaking?

The Book of Lists claims that fear of public speaking is #1 on peoples' list of fears, higher than death. This old claim is often repeated in articles about public speaking. Some students of mine are presenting original research in front of their classmates this week, and I must say I thought of them while reading this humorous post from Scott Adams' blog about a presentation that didn't go well. My claim would have to be that you can learn to speak well, but you do have to practice. Practice in front of a mirror, practice with a clock, practice while you are driving to work, practice until you like the results. Watch everyone else's presentations and think about how they could be improved. I always tell my students to also remember that their audience (the other students and me) wants them to succeed, and I've had students tell me this does help them to be more confident.

The cultural divide and political correctness

My daughter is participating in a gift exchange for the holiday season - nothing new about that idea, except its name: secret nondenominational gnomes. I guess secret santa was too culture specific. Well, I applaud the idea, but maybe it seems a bit sanitized for my tastes. But there are plenty of cautionary tales of cultural misunderstandings, and advertising seems just full of them.Here's an interesting page about some past misfires. I haven't checked these out to see if they are true. You may have already heard the one about the Chevrolet Nova that turns out to be a myth.