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Copyright – Langley Photography 2013 Covering politics and sports would seem to have a lot in common. In both pursuits, there are winners and losers and the heat of competition. But sportswriters seem to be far more successful in engaging readers these days. Political journalists, in fact, have often been criticized for turning their readers…

Even the best-known brands evolve. In order to stay relevant to their customers, companies often need to “refresh” their brands, which can be done in a number of ways: by updating their messaging, by creating a new logo, or by creating a new brand identity. We wondered, how does a brand refresh affect brand language…

March Madness finals are upon us. The NCAA college basketball tournament, which started with 68 teams, has come down to the final four. This weekend, the Kentucky Wildcats will face off against the Wisconsin Badgers, while the Michigan State Spartans take on the Duke Blue Devils.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; Mark Hirschey

A picture is worth a thousand words, as the old proverb in journalism goes. And the saying appears to hold true for online profile pictures as well. Research by LinkedIn shows that a page with a profile picture is seven times as likely to be viewed as a page without one. Given that the average…

A Veteran’s Perspective on How to Deliver a Persuasive Apology NBC news anchor Brian Williams has faced a backlash since issuing his apologies for misstating the facts of his experiences in the Iraq War. Much of this backlash has come from my fellow veterans who believe being shot at is a rite of passage too…

Using the new science of communication analytics to analyze the Brady and Belichick interviews Headline. Based on objective language analytics of the “Deflategate” interviews, both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick communicated with a consistent level of trustworthy language versus their previous media statements.

Research has proven that in order for leaders to inspire their audiences, they must be engaging, authentic, and persuasive. Last January, we decided to test this concept by analyzing inspirational locker room speeches from the head coaches of the NFL teams that were facing off in the Super Bowl. We found the language of Pete…

Using the new science of communication analytics to analyze President Obama’s statement and Joni Ernst’s Response