The Startup

20 hours ago | medium.com | Athalia Monae

Ok, thank you for that. Let's now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let's begin with a basic definition so that we are all on the same page. How would you define an "Effective Communicator?" What are the characteristics of an effective communicator? An effective communicator is someone who is honest, authentic, and listens actively. They speak with clarity and focus on topics they know well, providing depth and insight.

20 hours ago | medium.com | Athalia Monae

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about networking, our readers would love to "get to know you" a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path? Growing up in Savannah, Georgia, a close-knit community, surrounded by medical professionals and design-inclined, creative matriarchs, I was raised in a milieu where creativity was a refuge and caring for others was a core value.

1 day ago | medium.com | Laura Cowan

Here’s a story I hope will help us better understand the difference between introverts and extroverts — and how we can create space for both in the workplace. My first job out of college was as a CPA at Ernst & Young in their Des Moines, Iowa office. This was around the year 2000 — long before Zoom calls and remote work were options. Back then, “busy season” meant spending long hours in small conference rooms with your audit team. But it didn’t start and end with work.

1 day ago | medium.com | Elizabeth Emerald

Synchronized chair dancing? During the predawn hours of Monday morning— whilst I vainly struggled to block out the cacophony— my weather-beaten upper deck was pounded anew as its pair of wind-tossed, plastic Adirondack chairs crashed against the rails and one another. By sunrise, the storm had passed. With trepidation, I opened the slider, bounded to the deck’s edge, and peered over the rail, expecting to see smashed chairs splayed on the lawn-level concrete pad.

1 day ago | medium.com | Jill Eng

POETRYDiscoveryJust nowin a different temperamentcame windoutsidea forgetful plotthen escaped a trajectoryof distant emptinessto the sorrowbeamed down upondiscoverycoming out of something in timethe arena waswhat amazeda formtraveling contentmentcautioned againstelements beneatha systemdownslight retrievalsthat enteredacting placesforested withmighta possibilityactualizedto the degreeof seeingsomethingThis poem has been published in The Crooked Circle. Thank you Thomas James.