Day 20 is when I give up on titles

I struggle with using the right words in speech, flirting with the line between overly precise and vague. My emails come out terse and my speech tends to ramble. I know that success is a dance of managing perception, yet I wonder how I can express myself in a succinct, folksy way that does not come across as either emotional or brusque or condescending.

This is one of many questions that punctuate my sleeping time.

How do I get through? What are the magic words? Court jester or fool?

Sure. I am guilty of self-doubt. But I am also guilty of hubris. It's the contradiction that rattles me.

Sometimes when I sense it is an especially important moment, my mind blanks. I lose the thread. I focus to the point of forgetting. So I've started taking notes to compensate for drift.

I should be better at turning things around. Asking questions. Listening. If you are the one asking the questions then you need never lose the thread.

Maybe it's time to brush up on my Dale Carnegie.