This is not a story about communication

One of the most famous paintings by the French surrealist Rene Magritte is a picture of a pipe with the words Ceci n'est pas une pipe or This is not a pipe under it. His point is that the picture is merely an image of a pipe, and not the pipe itself. In today's New York Times is an article that is not about communication, but the article illustrates a number of points that are critical to understanding how to communicate effectively. The article is about the creation of a National Museum of African-American History and Culture as part of the Smithsonian Institution, but the author touches on key goals of good communication, including:

• understanding your target audience
• building credibility
• presenting facts in an unbiased way
• using positive characterization
• reading non-verbal cues

The author uses examples to show how good communication is critical to the success of this complex project, scheduled to open in 2015.

Dear Reader,

How do you start your email? Is "Dear ____" too formal? This Wall Street Journal article suggests that the use of dear as a greeting is incorrect. It is either too initimate, if you don't know the reader, or too impersonal, if the reader is someone the writer already knows. However, just launching into the content of the mail is too abrupt, according to one etiquette expert. Is "Salutations" or "Hey" any better?