Tag Archives: communication

Calling Cards as the New Business Card

Posted on by
1

Simplicity is the key to effective communication. When you give someone your business card, you want them to remember your name, what you do and be able to contact you (or recommend you to someone else). You also hope that your meeting (in person or virtual) is a memorable one.

If you have a business website or a blog site, you don’t need to go into detail on your business card, you just need to give them a way to get more information. That’s enough.

I’ve dropped using a physical address on my own business cards. After all, in my business, does it really matter where I live and work? Nope. It only matters that people can call me, email me and visit me online to learn more — if they are so inclined.

Continue reading →

Laurel Leaves – Symbolism and Meaning

Posted on by
24

Laurel leaf engraved band ringI’m going to veer recklessly off course from my typical blog entries today. It’s been a difficult week, so overlook me…

I’ve always been drawn to decorated band rings. I like fanciful engravings on basic bands. (Think Victorian and Edwardian era stuff – laurel leaves, ivy and acorns.)

I like the idea of decorating the plain, of giving the simple more depth. I like functional art. Whatever that makes me, so be it. I like symbolism and the meanings conveyed in natural items and decorative invocation of the symbolic power of those items.

In the same way, I want to live in a simple house and eat from my over-done, fanciful, renaissance-styled sterling flatwear. I know that may sound contradictory, but I think that we should have the beauty we want in the things we need, rather than having art knick-knacks or examples that can only be admired and never touched, held, enjoyed and used. Museums are wonderful places, and I love them, but I wouldn’t want to live in one. I prefer my home and my life to incorporate the beautiful into the everyday. Continue reading →

Pump Up the Creativity: Oblique Strategies

Posted on by
1

I’ve only recently discovered “Oblique Strategy Cards” — now available in a fifth edition. Apparently I’m a little slow sometimes, but I LOVE the concept.

They are, according to the creators:

Observations on the principles underlying what we were doing. Sometimes they were recognized in retrospect (intellect catching up with intuition), sometimes they were identified as they were happening, sometimes they were formulated.

They can be used as a pack (a set of possibilities being continuously reviewed in the mind) or by drawing a single card from the shuffled pack when a dilemma occurs in a working situation. In this case,the card is trusted even if its appropriateness is quite unclear. They are not final, as new ideas will present themselves, and others will become self-evident. Continue reading →