Category: Written Communication

Soft Skills – Communication

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in COMMUNICATION, INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, Presentations, Psychology, Rhetoric, Speech Communication, Written Communication

This is going to be a very brief post. There's a reason why communication belongs to the category of so-called "soft" skills. And that reason is: it's not (usually) supposed to be harsh. Barking at folks will not get you very far, unless you're into making enemies or turning friends away. And my guess is, … Continue reading Soft Skills – Communication →

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Why You Should Choose Your Translator Carefully

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in Übersetzungen, Brand management, BRANDING, COMMUNICATION, INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, MARKETING, Traduceri Romana, TRANSCREATION, TRANSLATION, Translation English, Written Communication

An over-simplified view of our profession will have you believe that a translation is the mechanistic rendering of the source text into the target language, as if the human element barely matters at all. You pour text in, text gets spouted back out, how hard can it be, right? After all, we've already got machines … Continue reading Why You Should Choose Your Translator Carefully →

The Key to Leadership Communication

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in Brand management, BRANDING, COMMUNICATION, INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, Negotiations, Psychology, Speech Communication, Written Communication

Spoiler alert: it's the pronoun "we" (or "us"). But how do we turn it into a livable reality? When discussing leadership communication, plenty of texts and materials out there will have you believe that it has everything to do with a leader’s personal qualities (such as charisma and interpersonal skills), their professional ability (competence, reliability, … Continue reading The Key to Leadership Communication →

What is Rhetoric? Age-old Sources of Persuasion

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in COMMUNICATION, Negotiations, Presentations, Psychology, Rhetoric, Speech Communication, Written Communication

How's your Latin? And what about your Greek? Because to answer the question in the title, we need to go back to the Ancients. Aristotle, to be more exact, and his book Rhetoric. Rhetoric means 'ars bene dicendi' - or, in translation, the art of speaking well. Not 'correctly' (that's grammar), not 'truly' (that is … Continue reading What is Rhetoric? Age-old Sources of Persuasion →

Narratology – How Stories Work and Why They Matter

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in COMMUNICATION, Psychology, Rhetoric, Speech Communication, Written Communication

We live in a world of stories. Stories shape the way we think about reality. Stories are what we tell ourselves about ourselves. When the human brain wants to make sense of events and data in the environment, transform them into actionable insights, and share them with others, there is no way around stories. We … Continue reading Narratology – How Stories Work and Why They Matter →

Why You Need an Experienced Linguist to Translate Your Work

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in Übersetzungen, BRANDING, COMMUNICATION, CONSULTING ROMANIA, GERMANY, INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, Speech Communication, Traduceri Romana, TRANSCREATION, TRANSLATION, Translation English, Written Communication

You have spent countless hours, days, months, maybe even years working on something important. Whether it is a product, book, article, patent, or marketing campaign, you do not want to skimp on the translation. In fact, you want the best possible translator/editor on your team. Why? Because you do not want to undermine your credibility … Continue reading Why You Need an Experienced Linguist to Translate Your Work →

A Quick Guide to Romanian Culture – OTHER HUMANS

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in BRANDING, COMMUNICATION, CONSULTING ROMANIA, GERMANY, INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE TRAINING, Negotiations, Presentations, Psychology, Rhetoric, Speech Communication, TRANSCREATION, Written Communication

Last time we talked about communication, which is one of the main ways we interact with OTHER PEOPLE. In fact, everything we do can be termed "communication", as it results in different types of messages and human beings are meaning-making creatures. This time, I'd like to talk a little more about power dynamics, decision-making, and … Continue reading A Quick Guide to Romanian Culture – OTHER HUMANS →

A Few Fact-Checking Tips

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in COMMUNICATION, Psychology, Rhetoric, Written Communication

We are living through strange, polarized times and research shows that people are increasingly relying on the Internet and social media to keep themselves informed. The only problem with that: how does one decide which information to trust and which to discard? For starters, a basic rule of thumb is to check the credibility of … Continue reading A Few Fact-Checking Tips →

Cultural dimensions and their implications: “High context”

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in COMMUNICATION, CONSULTING ROMANIA, GERMANY, Decision-making, INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, Negotiations, Presentations, Psychology, Rhetoric, Speech Communication, Written Communication

You've probably heard it said before: Germany is a low-context culture. But what does that mean? The terms "low-context" and "high-context" were coined by American anthropologist Edward T. Hall. In low-context cultures, people attribute less importance to context. Low-context cultures are explicit, clear, textual cultures, which derive meaning from the actual words on the page, … Continue reading Cultural dimensions and their implications: “High context” →

5 Reasons the Romanian anti-Covid campaign failed – A quick communications audit

Posted on by Andreea Sepi in Brand management, BRANDING, COMMUNICATION, CONSULTING ROMANIA, GERMANY, Decision-making, INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, Negotiations, Presentations, Psychology, Rhetoric, Speech Communication, Written Communication

As someone who's been plagued by chronic respiratory ailments, and an emigrée with very strong ties to the motherland, I have kept a close eye on the Romanian anti-Covid vaccination campaign. My feelings about it went from the initial awe at the exceptional logistical organization with its fast and effective roll-out, to downright dismay when, … Continue reading 5 Reasons the Romanian anti-Covid campaign failed – A quick communications audit →