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

Lee Shainis
Jun 241 min read
Who is your test person?
I led two refresher trainings for wonderful groups in Illinois and Colorado recently. I heard great responses to the question, "What...

Lee Shainis
Jun 241 min read
One link
Have you been on zoom meetings where the facilitator puts many different links in the chat throughout the session? Attendees are...

Lee Shainis
Jun 241 min read
Policies and resource consumption of AI
More people are using AI regularly. Yes it's weird and scary, but it can help you simplify communication. To be effective and efficient...

Lee Shainis
May 271 min read
Do you edit your messages before sending them?
Two things I often hear from people who attend my Simplify Communication training: 1. "I now focus on what my audience wants from my...

Lee Shainis
May 271 min read
"Is it unprofessional to use exclamation points?"
People asked that in two separate trainings recently. My response: Mirror your audience when it comes to tone and directness . ...

Lee Shainis
May 271 min read
Never start sentences with these.
In Simplify Communication training I discuss removing excess and simplifying sentence structure to make it easier for your audiences to...

Lee Shainis
May 271 min read
Combatting misinformation with clarity
"Misinformation really is becoming a crisis. It’s becoming a crisis of trust. It can impact the safety of students." - Cathy Kedjidjian,...

Lee Shainis
Mar 201 min read
Show me the data!
My Simplify Communication training impacts access, inclusion, productivity, efficiency, and trust. Below I included data and articles...

Lee Shainis
Mar 102 min read
Slashes, acronyms, and more.
My previous newsletters explored big ideas, fear, and barriers. This one provides quick tips to make writing more readable and...

Lee Shainis
Feb 232 min read
Communicating during times of fear or change
During times of change or conflict, we need to communicate in ways that minimize fear and distrust. Here are 4 examples of positive...

Lee Shainis
Feb 231 min read


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

Lee Shainis
Jan 161 min read
Choices
Do you want to use creative or humorous language in your newsletter that 90% of the audience will enjoy, but 10% won’t understand? Or...

Lee Shainis
Jan 121 min read
Transform your presentations, trainings, and meetings.
I love leading trainings and presentations. I used to hate it, but now I have many proven tools I've learned from experience, feedback,...

Lee Shainis
Jan 91 min read
Tips that might change your mission statement
Here are two tips that could change millions of mission statements 😂. 1. Use no more than 2 commas or 2 "and"s in a sentence that is 10...

Lee Shainis
Dec 11, 20241 min read
Meal-snack-bite
How long do people spend reading a newsletter or email? Some want all the info and will spend 2-3 minutes. Most want only the essential...

Lee Shainis
Dec 9, 20241 min read


Is ChatGPT going to take our jobs?
If you're not effectively using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and programs like ChatGPT or Gemini, you will be less effective and...

Lee Shainis
Nov 21, 20242 min read


Permission to be simple
“My sisters and I are the first people in our family to have college educations. I had a founder I worked with once tell me that he did...

Lee Shainis
Nov 13, 20241 min read


Why is it so difficult to simplify communication?
"I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." - Mark Twain. You probably prefer a shorter version of...

Lee Shainis
Oct 30, 20242 min read
Simplifying Builds Trust
Around 20 years ago, a friend who works at a financial institution said something about trust. He said “When people understand our...

Lee Shainis
Oct 23, 20241 min read
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