How do I know? Because politicians use coded language and in the past week or so a new phrase has appeared in the political discourse: And that phrase is "Raising Revenue."

And how do we do that? Why we close tax loopholes or let previous tax cuts...

This is a deeply personal story, the most personal I have written, the most revealing. I want to share an aspect of who I am that I've discovered relatively recently, that goes very, very deep.

I'm the mother of a gay child.

Lily, my...

After being caught in a series of statements that allowed and encouraged people to believe he served in Vietnam, even though he honorably served in the Marine Corps Reserves during that time, Connecticut Attorney General and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Richard Blumenthal is understandably embarrassed. Yet, he has not...

I just saw a sweet, funny, Off-Broadway play entitled "Santa Claus Is Coming Out" that entertains exactly this question. Written by Jeffrey Solomon, the story revolves around a little boy, Gary, who, more than anything else, wants a doll for Christmas. Although he is too young to connect the...

School arts programs are again under assault, having, in many cases, never recovered from past cutbacks. At the same time, Goldman Sachs has image problems its chief, Lloyd Blankfein, did not anticipate, cannot identify with and continues to exacerbate. These matters are linked; one begets the other.

In recent decades,...

With the stunning news that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, there has been understandable skepticism. Then I got to thinking...

What if the Nobel committee was taking an uncharacteristically broad view of world peace? What if the award wasn't only directed at Barack Obama? What if...

In my line of work, clients come to me when they want help selling themselves and their ideas. I always work from one, primary line of reasoning: What's In It For Me, a.k.a., WIIFM. Not "me," of course, but their target audiences like clients and customers. My clients must understand,...

When it comes to electing the president, the better communicator almost always wins. This truth did not bode well for Hillary Clinton, nor does it look good for John McCain. But does communication style matter for Vice-President? In particular, what does it mean for all the women whose names have...

Last week, I spoke at the American Society for Training & Development's International Conference and Exposition. Malcolm Gladwell also spoke. The bestselling author of The Tipping Point and Blink is promoting his new book, Outliers, to be released in November. Because it was a gathering of people who are deeply...

For quite some time now, I've been noticing some serious gaps in Barack Obama's communication skills. It didn't seem possible just a few short months ago, but it's started to look like Obama has a "tin ear" when it comes to interpersonal communication. This has implications well beyond the primaries.