In Send (see the Book of the Month), the authors talk about the consequences of sending certain types of e-mails, particularly when you are angry.  "By expressing your wrath, you are telling your subject that he or she must listen to you.  You are no longer equals . . . You have the knowledge and he needs to be taught.  Everything you say from here on comes from a position of moral superiority."  When I read that last sentence, I cringed.  I know I have sent out those sorts of e-mails or made those types of statements.  That awful position of moral superiority -- doesn't leave much room for discussion, does it?  It's great if you really want to leave everyone annoyed with you, but not very good if you're trying to get something accomplished.  So, I apologize to family, friends, and colleagues for "shutting down" the conversation and remind you, before you hit the Send button, re-read that e-mail and think about how you would feel if you were the recipient.

In her July newsletter, Diane DiResta, founder of  DiResta Communications, Inc. (www.diresta.com), talks about experts who don't speak well and what can be done to ensure a successful presentation.  This can be especially harrowing if you're worried that the speaker (or speakers) will not stay on topic or keep to the time limit.  Two good options that Diane suggests are to use either a panel discussion format or an interview format.  Both of these formats allow the moderator (you) to ask specific questions and keep the presentation lively, interesting, and moving in the right direction.

My family loves Chinese food, we bring it in a lot.  Which means that there are usually a few cellophane-wrapped fortune cookies floating around the dining room table.  I enjoy the fortunes and save the more meaningful ones, such as "Love truth but pardon error" and "Writing is thinking on paper".  But this week I found my most intriguing fortune -- "When the moment comes, take the first one from the right".  Perhaps it made sense when it was written in Chinese.  So I am now looking for my moment and looking for that first one from the right.  (Do you have a suggestion as to what this really means?   I'll print the most amusing responses next month!)