Content Creation in the Time of Disinformation: A Pathway to Trust

Content Creation in the Time of Disinformation: A Pathway to Trust

Debra W Kahn (@debrawk.bsky.social)

“Easy to process equates to easy to believe.” These words leaped off the page as I was rereading David Dylan Thomas’ book Design for Cognitive Bias recently. They apply to the gamut of modern deliberative information-making (short- and long-form) from ad slogans to instruction manuals. They also inform deliberately deceptive content—manipulative and fact-free social media posts, press releases, and political speeches—or disinformation.

As my mind began to grasp the far-reaching implications of this quotation, I realized that it also speaks indirectly to the central construct in successful product communication: trust.

As professional communicators, how can we earn our audience’s trust? How can we appeal to readers who are potentially adrift in a disinformation-polluted social environment?

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The Art of the Unsaid: How Negative Space in Writing Boosts Engagement

The Art of the Unsaid: How Negative Space in Writing Boosts Engagement

Debra W Kahn (@debrawk.bsky.social)

What if your writing could be more powerful precisely because of what you don’t say? I’m not talking about redacted content, though that seems to be a popular topic these days. I’m talking about methods to inform and engage without drowning our readers in excess. I’m talking about leveraging negative space—not in the sense of page layout or white space, but rather in the sense of what’s implied, unsaid, or suggested rather than explicitly stated.

When used judiciously, negative space invites your readers to leverage their own expertise and imagination, ultimately deepening their connection to your message. The tricky part is to allow your audience to apply their experiences to your conceptual piece without causing them confusion or frustration.

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Thistle-Tomes

Thistle-Tomes

Debra W Kahn (@debrawk.bsky.social)

The following are my 2024 short takes on all things content in life and work:

  1. No one is an expert on AI yet. Take everything with a grain of salt.
  2. Sustainability should be part of every content strategy and content project.
  3. Lack of specificity on websites can be both a friend and an enemy. Vagueness can leave room for negotiation but also misinterpretation.
  4. Jargon in customer-facing content can be a significant barrier to understanding and engagement.
  5. Something I like to call “name theory” says that what you call something matters. And it doesn’t have to rhyme with “oom.”
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AI Prompting for Bloggers: My Trial-and-Error Discoveries

AI Prompting for Bloggers: My Trial-and-Error Discoveries

Debra W Kahn (@debrawk.bsky.social)

Six months ago I set out to see if artificial intelligence (AI) could help me be a better blogger. In this post, I am sharing what I learned and providing tips to fellow bloggers.

I want to thank the many trailblazers in business development, program management, and content development who helped push me along with their presentations, workshops, and webinars. I have absorbed their guidance and made it my own.

My journey took me from a basic understanding of AI—through experimentation—and, finally, to a state of cautious optimism about its benefits and potential pitfalls, even dangers. I experimented with Poe, Grammarly, Claude, and ChatGPT (mostly the latter). I also tried various prompting techniques and patterns (primarily by accident). I had some successes and some failures.  Here’s what I learned along the way.

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The 5 Benefits of a Content Audit

The 5 Benefits of a Content Audit

Debra W Kahn (@debrawk.bsky.social)

If we’re honest with ourselves, we should be auditing our organization’s content more often than we do. A content audit, which is a survey and analysis of existing content, should encompass content that is online and printed, long and short, text, audio, video, and graphics. Or encompass at least the part of that whole that aligns with your organization’s current challenge.

If you’re having difficulty selling the need to conduct a content audit, this blog post is for you. If your organization has never conducted a content audit but you suspect it should let me help you understand what a content audit might reveal.

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