How’s Your Computer-side Manner?: The 9 Digital Communication Mistakes You’re Making That Are Holding You Back

By Dr. Ali Atkison

• Uncovers communication mistakes professionals unwittingly make that hurt their credibility
• Reveals strategies for communication that take professional, online communication from good to exceptional
• Written by the professor of three highly acclaimed courses on communication with The Great Courses and Audible
• Appeals to fans of Tony Robbins
• Gives readers the skills to ensure that the personal self and the business self are the same person
• Polishes one’s online communication to be as seamless and engaging as face-to-face conversation

• Language: English
• Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781636983073

Dr. Ali Atkison

Dr. Ali Atkison is a highly regarded keynote speaker and facilitator who has educated and inspired audiences of all sizes for more than two decades. With a Ph.D. in Human Communication Studies and more than 20 years in higher education, Dr. Atkison is widely considered one of the foremost authorities on how the adult brain learns.  Dr. Atkison’s coaching and leadership experience has shaped her approach as she marries the complex interplay between human communication and an organization’s values and mission. Her writing has appeared in ATD Magazine, UPCEA’s Unbound, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, and she has created self-paced digital courses for Wondrium and Audible on brain-based tactics for communication and consulting, as well as conducted keynotes and workshops on brain-based communication skills for organizations such as Marsh McLennan, Pinnacol Assurance, the Denver Art Museum, Advisa Group, Denver Public Library, National Association for Graduate Admissions Professionals, the Montana University System, the Institute for Adult Learning in Singapore, and more. She currently resides outside of Indianapolis, IN.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

I’ve been studying communication since I was an undergraduate majoring in communication at Northern Illinois University, then at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). I continued my journey to learn about communication by earning my Ph.D. in Human Communication Studies from the University of Denver.

I’ve spent my entire adult career researching, teaching, facilitating, writing, and speaking about communication skills. Because of what I do for a living, people often assume that I never make communication mistakes or errors in judgment in my written communication, and that I have perfectly conflict-free relationships. Of course, that can’t really be true. I am human, after all.

I’ve led with emotion and said the wrong thing (in writing and in person) many times. I’ve made many mistakes, some of which I’m humbled by, and some I outright regret. All of them I hope never to repeat.

In writing this book, I am certainly not presenting myself as a perfect communicator. And I am not suggesting that you should be one either. The point of this book is never to shame anyone for mistakes made, but rather to highlight why we tend to make those mistakes and to offer tools and strategies for making better choices.

I think one of the most important things a person can have is a growth mindset, and by reading this book you’re already demonstrating that you have one! Let’s tap into our growth mindset as I share the two main tenets of this book:

Communication is a choice. We choose our words, and no one is responsible for that choice but us.

The words we choose should always be informed by the impact on the other person.

This realization that communication is a choice is critical. And we get to make that choice over and over, hundreds of times a day. What a gift it is when we realize the choice is ours to make! We are not victims of our communication style. We are the masters of that destiny.

This book offers you tools to more easily make communication choices that build strong relationships—personal and professional. Although this is not technically a book on brain-based communication (though I do facilitate that particular topic in my work), I do, where relevant, explain the science that supports my assertions and