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Do pitches that rhyme belong on a sign?

Chapter 7 of To Sell is Human explores the art and science of pitching — the ability to distill one’s point to its persuasive essence. Along the way I show why we need to move beyond the elevator pitch and why the social science says we should pitch with questions and even rhymes. But I never expected […]


Emotionally intelligent bubble wrap

From NPR’s Robert Krulwich comes the tale of how a bus stop in Milan is making the wait for public transportation more bearable. The answer: Bubble wrap — cut into different sized sheets based on how long you expect to wait. Occupied time, it turns out, feels shorter and less stressful than unoccupied time. So anything […]


Emotionally intelligent signage: Coffee, poop, and vintage biker chicks

Folks, it never stops. Each week brings more emotionally intelligent signage from readers around the world. One of these days I’m gonna set up a Tumblr dedicated to this topic. Until then, here are four diverse signs we thought you’d enjoy: Eileen Can shows how one coffee joint guards against seared laps and eager plaintiffs’ […]


4 more emotionally intelligent signs

I haven’t been blogging much the last few weeks because I’ve been putting the finishing touches on a new book, which will be out at the end of the year. (Pre-order now. It’s worth it. I beg you.) But the mailbag is always brimming with emotionally intelligent signage, so I’ve plucked four recent reader submissions […]


4 emotionally intelligent signs from the road

As I mentioned in the last post, summer is a great time for emotionally intelligent signs. One reason is that more people are traveling, camera phones at the ready, as this batch of road photos demonstrates. Tabitha Core found this pleading sign in a work zone in the suburbs of Durban, South Africa: On the […]


4 emotionally intelligent (and psychologically sophisticated) signs

Summers always bring a bountiful harvest of emotionally intelligent signs — and the steamy summer of 2012 has been no exception. Over the past several weeks, readers have sent in tons of photos, usually taken with their phones, from their travels around the world. Here’s the first batch of favorites.  Look closely and squint with […]


Two cities use signs to set the rules (and make a point)

Ahh, summer. A time when some of us descend into the salt mines to finish a big project — while others of us get all Kerouac and hit the open road. If you’re in that former group, please stop complaining. If you’re in the latter, please bring your camera phone on your journey to take […]


3 more emotionally intelligent ways to keep streets safe

As always, the mailbag of emotionally intelligent signage is brimming with examples sent by readers around the world. And as always, the most prevalent target of this new approach to sign and symbol is dangerous driving.  Here are three that caught my eye: A homemade sign from a tough-minded (but not litigious) parent: An official […]


Textbook example of emotionally intelligent signage

Back in the old days, when an international team of Ph.D. social scientists and veteran graphic designers first conceived the idea of emotionally intelligent signage in a series of secret all-night meetings in my garage*, the term had a particular meaning. The idea was that signs could be more effective — that is, they were […]


Emotionally intelligent signage in burger joints

Emotionally intelligent signage! It’s everywhere — including at lunch and dinner. Stuart Ciske sends this example, which he saw at a Burger King in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Okay, maybe this time I won’t have it my way. Meanwhile, Jami Goldberg visited a Fuddruckers restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina and spotted this — a nice touch […]

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