I love providing training and coaching on how to lead dynamic and effective presentations. A lot of people have great content, but they miss opportunities to make that content stick if they don't frequently engage the audience and make every minute meaningful.    Here are 4 actionable ideas to begin a presentation:   - Start on time and engage people who arrive early , but don't say anything you'll need to repeat for latecomers. Avoid long or boring introductions.  - Address

When I edit writing, I typically remove 30-70% of text because it doesn't impact details, accessibility, or tone. That includes when I edit my own writing! A lot of text reduction is easy, especially as you learn and practice the skills more.    But sometimes we need to make difficult choices about what to include or omit, and which words to use. We need to find  balance between: Too much detail and not enough detail. Providing too much detail is a more common problem.  Clari

People who attend my training always see how this can impact their work. Many have also said it's improved their communication with family and friends!   When I talk to my young sons, I need to keep my main message brief. If I give a long lecture, my main messages are lost or confusing.   If I talk to my 11-year-old about honesty, maybe my main messages are: 1. Being honest is hard and takes practice. 2. Being honest will make your entire life better.  3. I want you to feel c

I saw a letter from a school superintendent that said, "I visited a number of schools last week."  How would you interpret that? 5 schools? 10? I assumed they visited 2 schools and were hoping I would assume they visited more.  If building trust is a priority, everyone receiving your message should interpret it the same.    When your subject header is "Deadline Approaching Fast!", some people may not read the full message. For some people, "fast" or "soon" means today or tomo

I talk a lot about reducing text because overcommunication is a huge problem. I have thousands of real examples where I cut text by 50-80% without impacting content or tone.  But, sometimes using more words is better.  Your #1 priority is being understood.  Your #2 priority is being as brief as possible. If more words means more clarity, use more words.    If 100% of your audience clearly understands what you mean when you say "collective impact", it's fine as is.  If less th

I recently wrote about the importance of having an AI policy that your team can clearly explain in 30 seconds.  People need clarity. Are they expected to use it a lot, a little, or not at all? When? Why?  It's better to have a policy now that you can modify later rather than have no policy.    I shared sample policies with a few organizations. Feel free to use this one as a starting draft or to edit an existing policy. And share it with those at your organization who are in c

Unfortunately, many organizations these days need to share bad news about funding cuts or reductions in services.   Being brief and clear...

Bella Fazio 7/28/25 The term “neurodiversity” refers to the variability in the way people think, process information, and understand the world around them. “Neurotypical” means a person who does not struggle with any mental health or cognitive disorders. “Neurodivergent” people do have mental health or cognitive disorders and thus process information differently. Approximately 20% of the human population is neurodivergent. That means that about 1 in every 5 people process inf

At a recent training, someone said they want to make their writing  concise and precise . I love that.  Many people worry that removing...

I led two refresher trainings for wonderful groups in Illinois and Colorado recently. I heard great responses to the question, "What...

Have you been on zoom meetings where the facilitator puts many different links in the chat throughout the session? Attendees are...

More people are using AI regularly. Yes it's weird and scary, but it can help you simplify communication. To be effective and efficient...

Two things I often hear from people who attend my Simplify Communication training: 1. "I now focus on what my audience wants from my...

People asked that in two separate trainings recently. My response:  Mirror your audience when it comes to tone and directness .  ...

In Simplify Communication training I discuss removing excess and simplifying sentence structure to make it easier for your audiences to...

"Misinformation really is becoming a crisis. It’s becoming a crisis of trust. It can impact the safety of students." - Cathy Kedjidjian,...

My Simplify Communication training impacts access, inclusion, productivity, efficiency, and trust. Below I included data and articles...

My previous newsletters explored big ideas, fear, and barriers. This one provides quick tips to make writing more readable and...

During times of change or conflict, we need to communicate in ways that minimize fear and distrust. Here are 4 examples of positive...

The idea of simplifying communication isn't new, but many are talking about it for the first time. It's often called “plain language”,...