How the world can influence our communication skills

Admin
November 19, 2025

I recently discovered there is such a thing as Global Cat Day.

As a cat owner, I’m immediately curious to find out more.

I realised quickly that it’s really just what it says on the tin – a day to celebrate your cat.

I quickly moved on to find out what other “days” we celebrate on Global Cat Day, known to most as October 16.

Let’s be honest, there’s a day for everything these days.

Daysoftheyear.com seems the ideal place to go. And there are some brilliant ones.

I’ve picked five that can teach us something about our communication.

1. National Dictionary Day

National Dictionary Day compels us to unearth fresh lexicon and novel terminology, and artfully entwine it into our discourses as the day progresses

Or National Dictionary Day encourages you to learn a few new words and drop them into conversation.

Which one is easier to digest?

I’m all for expanding your vocabulary, however, we must ensure that our audience is actually able to understand us.

I’m sure we’ve all read emails or attended presentations and wondered what they’re talking about. Even within topics you know about.

We see it all the time at Pink Elephant.

Technical jargon like synergy and intralogistics.

Generational jargon like emojis and slang terms that change every few years.

We always encourage people to simplify their language so that even a child can understand the terminology.

Your audience will thank you for this.

2. National Boss’ Day

Great opportunity here to praise my boss!

I’ll save that for another time though, and instead consider what it is that makes an effective boss.

And is it the same as an effective leader?

I believe they are absolutely different things.

That said, I like the idea of my boss displaying good leadership.

One of the main things I believe can improve our leadership is our choice of language.

Early in my career, I would be very guilty of using weak language.

Saying things like “I think” and “hopefully” would only serve to harm my chances when going for jobs or promotions.

“I think” is almost an abbreviation for “I think – but I might be wrong”.

There’s an element of doubt that you introduce when using it.

“Hopefully” might as well be said with crossing your fingers for good luck.

It suggests a lack of control of the situation.

This is where we encourage the use of the Language of Leadership.

By turning think to believe we introduce strength and, funnily enough, belief.

It’s much harder to argue with someone’s belief than it is with their thoughts.

We can also turn hope into trust.

Rather than finishing a presentation with “I hope that was useful”, it’s much firmer to say “I trust that was useful”.

This backs up our belief in everything we’ve just said.

3. Conflict Resolution Day

Which part of a presentation has the highest risk for conflict?

That’s a great question.

I’m glad you asked it.

Excuse me, as I try to make time to find an answer by using these filler phrases.

I believe that the question-and-answer section has the most potential for conflict. In certain circumstances, it can get really heated.

We need to resolve this.

As we are preparing our presentation, it’s important to consider what questions may come up.

These might be awkward, negative, or even just irrelevant questions.

What we want to do is get back to the things we want to be talking about.

If we call those awkward questions our B-List, it means we can have a clear goal of moving back to our A-List – the topics we’d rather discuss.

It’s a classic media handling tip.

Be sure to answer the question first, and we can talk about the answers involved, before moving back into the topics of your choosing.

With some preparation, we can maintain the control we feel in our presentation in our Q&A section, helping resolve any conflict whilst doing so.