About
My name is Neil and my friend and former coworker Laura is an incredible writer. If your organization needs a marketing communications expert—full-time or freelance—get in touch with her!
Learn more
- Read all 32 reasons.
- Check out Laura's LinkedIn profile.
- Download her portfolio (PDF).
- If you have a job opening or freelance work that Laura might be good for, e-mail 32reasons@gmail.com.
Spread the word
- Share a link to this site with anyone you know who might benefit from working with Laura. Reblogging and posting a link to this site into your Facebook page or Twitter feed are greatly appreciated.
- Become a fan on Facebook. Don't forget to also share the link with your friends there.
Does Laura know about this?
Yes, but she's not responsible for any of the words and errors on the site--those are all mine.
Thanks!
Looking for something specific?
#30: Because You're Not the Headmaster of the School for the Fearful
You’ve heard the cliche that there are no dumb questions. And yet, there are many people who are so afraid of appearing dumb that they don’t ask questions. Even when not asking keeps them from learning information that’s important to doing their jobs right the first time.
That’s why I love something that Laura wrote once to encourage her colleagues to not be afraid to ask questions:
It’s really not a sign of weakness to say you don’t understand. I say it all the time to my clients when I’m trying to understand what the heck I’m supposed to be writing about. Sometimes it seems like I should know, but in the end, I realize my job is to make sense of the information so I can communicate it.
Don’t get the wrong idea—Laura is extremely smart and the vast majority of the questions she asks are insightful and demonstrate a firm command of the source material that she’s been given. But ultimately, she’s more interested in asking questions that get to the key information she needs than she is in asking questions that demonstrate how smart she is. I really admire that self-confidence and commitment to doing what’s best for the project.
If you want someone who’s not afraid to ask questions to make sure she gets things right, check out Laura’s LinkedIn profile, download her portfolio (PDF) and e-mail 32reasons@gmail.com.
