Let Dr. Mike Zizzi teach you to uplift your world via truly *authentic* writing (and speaking! and listening!) We need more of YOUR voice (not AI's).
Writing Lesson #1: Not “all in one chunk” Okay, Reader-student (that moniker means I’ve got something important to teach you, FYI), roll up your mental sleeves and brace yourself for your first step upon the path of transforming – not just improving, but transforming – how you express yourself in writing. I have promised to lead…
From “rules” to “resources“ All over this website/blog, you will find me interpreting grammar rules and proposing ways to utilize the “rules” as “resources.” And understanding these resources opens up options to help you communicate with free and authentic self-expression. The better you understand the grammar rules, the better you understand your writing resources. With…
Forget the cute cliché: Less, usually, is . . . LESS! Unfortunately, most people (maybe you, at least until now!) want any and all written “explanations,” including grammatical, “brief and to the point.” But that just leaves you only partially understanding things, which can cause more problems than it fixes. Sometimes people “half-understand” a new…
Here’s a grammar lesson to help you to better understand adverbs so that you can use them confidently and correctly. You can see how I put into bold italics the -ly at the end of those two adverbs in the prior sentence. Well, that just gets us started. To learn more about adverbs, including how…
Read More “Adverbs – Do they make you feel bad — or badly?” »
Here I am, at the 1988 annual convention of the International Listening Association, standing with my “pen-pal finally met in the flesh,” Ralph G. Nichols, aka “The Father of Listening.” (Click post title to see pic)
To get the “Stories” section of this site going, allow me to merge the two seemingly contrary topics – speaking and listening – in the following tale, which I present as a first-hand tribute to the legendary scholar known to many (mainly scholars in the “listening” sub-field of communication) as the Father of Listening, Ralph…
As mentioned in the introductory text (see above) for this blog category, I have formally and publically defined the multi-faceted concept of dialogue with these two simple words: difference engaged. Among other places, both in print and in public presentation, I proposed this definition in my doctoral dissertation, An Anatomy of Dialogue in Teaching and…
As for my interest in driving (aka motorists in traffic), I did focus on this topic for the first three semesters of my doctoral study of communication at the University of Colorado. I took some heat from my faculty for this choice (it’s not what they studied, and, yes, that matters) and was “encouraged” (more…
Read More “Why study driving as “rhetoric” (like a speech)?” »
“Words Matter,” so get them right! I’ve dedicated my academic and professional life, along with much of my personal life, to studying, teaching, theorizing, and writing about the endless meanings, implications, and applications of the brief, common, and commonly mis-used expression, “words matter.” How? Why? To what effect? Making what possible? Causing what limitations? Overcoming…
Again and again on the Up-Wordz.com website/blog, you’ll find me urging you to “say it with authenticity.” We often take that word for granted, not even stopping to wonder or even ask, “What do you mean by authenticity“? Good question! Do you have authenticity in you? The founding principle of this whole site centers on…