Better Communication

Stop Screwing Around with Boring Online Writing: Become the Iron Man of Online Writers

By Diane Dolinsky-Pickar ⋅ March 16, 2013 ⋅ 13 comments

Eye tracking studies show readers close the window in as little as 1/20th of a second. Do you have any idea how fast that zips by, 1/20th of a second? (read more...)

Online Communities and Google+ Hangouts: A Pair Made in Heaven

By Diane Dolinsky-Pickar ⋅ January 21, 2013 ⋅ 10 comments

“I know an old woman who lived in a shoe … ” goes the rhyme, but it was a digital shoe equipped with a mobile hotspot, so she was as (read more...)

How To Be A Bulldog In A Male-Dominated Industry

By Diane Dolinsky-Pickar ⋅ May 14, 2012 ⋅ 6 comments

When I refer to someone as “Potentate of the Board Room,” do you think of a woman? I would guess not. Because we all know, comparatively speaking, there are really (read more...)

Defending The Landline

By Diane Dolinsky-Pickar ⋅ April 26, 2012 ⋅ 21 comments

To say almighty landline may be an exaggeration. But a phone that’s physically plugged into a wall outlet is not a twee relic, either. Its position as the most trustworthy (read more...)

Why Your Customer Service Survey Is Causing Your Business to Crater

By Diane Dolinsky-Pickar ⋅ January 9, 2012 ⋅ 10 comments

I’m ready to punch out the Toyota execs. It’s time to stop those ridiculous 8-question customer surveys. Or, start filling them out with an inane rant, so they don’t keep (read more...)

How To Write Lively In A World Of Dumb Drones: 6 Sources For Inspiration

By Diane Dolinsky-Pickar ⋅ December 26, 2011 ⋅ 13 comments

I admit it: I’ve been caught red-handed. I blatantly stole “chica” from Sharon O’Day and hijacked the phrase “get into pole position” from Izzy Woods. I’d even steal from my (read more...)

Solving, Not Selling, is the Key to Exceptional Phone Interviews

By Diane Dolinsky-Pickar ⋅ November 18, 2011 ⋅ 7 comments

Survival of the fittest isn’t just the big idea underlying evolution. It is also a powerful metaphor for phone interviewing. According to Darwin, the species that survived environmental challenges solved (read more...)

A Crown Jewel of Technical Writing Jobs: Freelance Medical Writer

By Diane Dolinsky-Pickar ⋅ November 11, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

You already know that as a freelancer you’re asked to do the work that on-staff people can’t or won’t do—the impossible assignments, in record time, completed with the grace of (read more...)

Are You Helping or Wasting Time? Ask the Turtle

By Susan Kim ⋅ October 14, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Imagine seeing a giant turtle that is crawling up from a river and is approaching the side of a road. You’re hiking past it and it turns up its head (read more...)

Do Not Leave an Interview Without Asking THIS Question

By Diane Dolinsky-Pickar ⋅ September 24, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

Suzanne had gone on five interviews and still had not gotten the job offer. Yet, the recruiter assured her that no one she had spoken with doubted her qualifications or (read more...)