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Philip Yaffe's articles
A major reason most people write so poorly is the chaotic state of English spelling. Eliminating irregular, non-phonetic, and Latin-based spellings would therefore help everyone express themselves in clearer, more concise, more persuasive texts.
Posted: 2011-03-12
Category: Writing & Speaking
The venerable bullet point has been shot down for slide-assisted presentations because today everything must be resolutely visual. But bullet points are visual. And when properly used, astonishingly effective. Just ask Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Posted: 2011-01-11
Category: Writing & Speaking
True science fiction permits consideration of fundamental questions of ethics, philosophy, and sociology in situations so remote from contemporary life that they can be examined with greater acuity and less emotion. Here are two stellar examples.
Posted: 2010-10-07
Category: Writing
Many adults lament the apparent disinclination of modern children to read. The better you understand how something is made, the more likely you are to appreciate it. Given all the distractions, getting children to read more by teaching them to write better may be the only way.
Posted: 2010-10-05
Category: K-12 Education
Author Philip Yaffe, who is now approaching the biblical three score and ten years of age, is still seeking answers to some fundamental questions, notable regarding what appear to be factual and moral discrepancies in the Bible. Could someone help him find the answers?
Posted: 2009-07-11
Category: Religion
Over the past 40-plus years as a journalist and marketing communication consultant, I have frequently been told that I am an exceptionally good writer by teachers, friends, colleagues, and clients. But I wasn’t always a good writer; in fact, I used be a very bad one. So what happened to bring about this monumental change?
Posted: 2009-06-13
Category: Writing
American writer Gertrude Stein spent most of her life in France. She wrote novels, plays, stories, libretti, and poems, but is best remembered for a line from a 1913 poem, "A rose is a rose is a rose." She was noted for her sometimes arcane observations formulated in "pithy prose". These are quotations that say more in one or two sentences than could be expressed in a thousand-word treatise. They are like pouring a liter of liquid into a half-liter bottle.
Posted: 2009-06-13
Category: Writing
It hard to realize that the 50th anniversary of the election of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in November 1960 is rapidly approaching. It is equally hard to realize that the 50th anniversary of JFK's death in November 1963 is also now rapidly approaching. The recent election of Barack Obama has stirred strong memories of this short, dramatic period in world history.
Posted: 2009-06-03
Category: Article Writing
Simone Veil (born July 13, 1927), a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, has served French Minister of Health and President of the European Parliament. She is a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration. She is particularly noted for his insightful observations formulated in "pithy prose". These are quotations that say more in one or two sentences than could be expressed in a thousand-word treatise. They are like pouring a liter of liquid into a half-liter bottle.
Posted: 2009-06-03
Category: Writing
Medical research may seem a rather dull, tedious occupation; however, some of the people who engage in it have extraordinary tales to tell. Dr. Wolf Szmuness, who helped develop the first hepatitis B vaccine, is an outstanding example. The story of how he came to New York City from Poland to carry out his life-saving work reads like high fiction.
Posted: 2009-05-19
Category: Health & Fitness
Friedrich Schiller (1759 - 1805) was a leading German dramatist, poet, and essayist. His poem "Ode to Joy", which Beethoven set to music, is today the anthem of the 27-nation European Union. Schiller was particularly noted for his keen observations formulated in "pithy prose". These are quotations that say more in one or two sentences than could be expressed in a thousand-word treatise. They are like pouring a liter of liquid into a half-liter bottle.
Posted: 2009-05-19
Category: Writing
Mark Twain famously said: "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." Of course he was absolutely right -- and partially wrong. In speaking, using exactly the right word is crucial. In speaking, it is important, but not crucial. Too much concern about finding the lightning rather than the lightning bug can be seriously detrimental.
Posted: 2009-05-19
Category: Public Speaking
We all live with misconceptions about the world. This is quite normal. No one can be an expert in everything, so we simplify our learning into easy-to-remember snippets. These are often very close to the truth, but never quite there. Generally, our misconceptions are insignificant and do little harm. Some times they are very significant and do a lot of harm.
Posted: 2009-05-13
Category: Self Improvement
Someone once said: "There is no dull information, only dull writers." Dull texts and dull presentations on "dull" subjects are not inevitable. The secret of converting dull into dynamic is a fundamental insight into the human psyche known as "Yaffe's Law".
Posted: 2009-05-13
Category: Writing
In virtually all walks of life, documents of more than a few of pages are composed of a body and an executive summary. Unfortunately, most writers treat the executive summary as an afterthought. To be truly useful, the it should not just summarize the body, but direct the reader to it. This is just one good reason why you should write the executive before you write the body, not afterwards.
Posted: 2009-05-04
Category: Management
