Guidance News

Become a better visual communicator!

Guidance presents Can you draw me a picture? Communicating ideas with diagrams.

Research shows that presentations and learning materials are more effective and memorable if they use visuals. But to communicate optimally, you sometimes need to move beyond clip art and stock photos to visuals that are specific to the content. Even if you have no graphics training, you can learn to do this with diagrams.

Diagrams are simple pictures created using lines, shapes, words and (optionally) clip art. We will present a simplified taxonomy of diagram types and heuristics for choosing the type to use in different situations. We will then teach (and practice) a process to design, define, and refine your diagrams.

This session draws on the work of experts in related fields, including Dan Roam (Back of the Napkin), Nancy Duarte (slide:ology), Ruth Colvin Clark (Graphics for Learning) and Robin Williams (The Non-Designer's Design Book). We distill their observations into a practical approach that any professional can use to create great diagrams.

The session is scheduled for the following events:

ASTD Outstanding Contribution Award

Guidance President Jack Massa was honored with the 2010 Outstanding Contribution Award by the Greater Atlanta Chapter of ASTD (the American Society for Training and Development). The award was presented by Chapter President Don Bolen at a meeting December 6, 2010.

Jack served as Vice President of Technology for the chapter for two years. In 2010, he led the effort to select, design and build a new chapter web site, driven by the content managment system Wild Apricot. The site went live September 1, 2010 and has greatly improved the efficiency of chapter operations and members' user experience, while simultaneously reducing costs.

Best Practices for Live Online Training

Guidance President Jack Massa spoke at the 2009 Society for Technical Communication Summit, May 6 in Atlanta. Jack led a discussion as part of the STC Instructional Design and Learning SIG Progressions. His topic was "Best Practices for Live Online Training."

In this session, Jack explored the pros and cons of live online training (or "synchronous e-learning") compared to other delivery methods. He then provided a series of best practices to make online sessions engaging, memorable, and effective.

Jack's research is also presented in this new Guidance white paper:

"Thirteen Best Practices for Live Online Training"

Thoth's Tips

Communication Lessons from the God of Scribes

In ancient Egypt, Thoth was the God of Scribes and the Scribe of the Gods. He was also a god of wisdom and of all things intellectual. If Thoth were around today, he might offer suggestions like these for communicating in the workplace.

Tip #2: A Good Flow - Communication Wisdom from Ancient Ireland

Tip #1: Emails That Get Results

Guidance Teaches Successful Business Writing

In today's professional environment, everyone must write effective emails and letters. Managers and engineers are often responsible for formal documents—such as specifications, reports and proposals. Yet the writing produced by many organizations is unclear and ineffective, resulting in confusion, lost productivity and lost revenue.

Now, Guidance Communications is pleased to offer workshops and coaching programs for successful business writing. We do not offer one-size-fits-all seminars. Instead, we analyze our clients' writing needs, meet with their people, and devise a custom program to make their writing successful. Guidance President Jack Massa has taught writing course in college and industry and has years or experience working with writers at every skill level.

To learn how to improve the writing in your organization, please see our Services page on Business Writing Instruction.