Most of us need a reason to change. There are questions that need to be answered to facilitate that change. Sometimes the answers we seek...

On January 4, 2023, I got to provide the kick-off guest lecture for a graduate class at Auburn University. The course is part of a...

The Chance of Rain Most people do not understand what the chance of rain means. Some believe it means it will rain "30% of the day,"...

Facilitators seldom have the opportunity to use four formats with the same board of directors for four consecutive years. Blame it on...

As trusted advisors, technical professionals stand on the data first. Telling the story of the data overpowers most of our communication...

Epictetus was a Greek philosopher who was born into slavery. He believed all external events are beyond our control. Epictetus believed...

Making a decision requires an irrevocable allocation of resources. In a world full of complexity and uncertainty, decision makers turn to...

Communicating strategic decisions is a long game. And the long game consists of complexity (many interrelated parts) and uncertainty (not...

I was pleasantly surprised to find a great example of the three-act structure at a recent Young Professional forum where I was speaking....

Well, maybe not the absolute worst because I have seen some bad ones. But this one is in the Top 10. Good Intentions This slide was part...

Listen closely the next time a technical specialist or a self-proclaimed expert delivers a presentation. The chances are good that they...

Low-likelihood, high-consequence (“rare”) events present special challenges for effective communication. Pre-event plans are often well...

The high-consequence, low-likelihood nature of rare events makes them unexpectedly and disproportionately impactful. Rare events can...

We are all called upon weekly (or daily) to explain or defend our work. As technical professionals, video conferences, interfacing with...

The consequence/likelihood matrix (also referred to as a risk matrix or heat map) is a way to display risks according to their...

Understanding your risks relative to an uncertain future usually involves some type of model. When it comes to uncertainty, forecasts,...

Having a conversation or presenting to senior-level executives and acquiring their time to do so can be very difficult. I would like to...

Current project managers and decision makers have not grown up in an era of rising construction escalation and economic inflation. The...

Start with the conclusion. No build-up. No grand reveal. No details. Simply and concisely state the conclusion. This is the message that...

Check out the great insights on communicating technical information to decision makers from the Communicating with FINESSE community. ...