Some people have a knack for making you feel smarter for having listened to them.
Not only are they able to summon facts and studies, they make their points in a logical flow, and explain complex words if they use them.
They don't shove emotional rhetoric down your throat, instead calmly explaining their views and expounding on them when asked to do so.
Because of how prepared they are when questioned, it's clear that they have thought through what they are saying.
One of these people, whom I've been listening to for some time now (on YouTube, primarily), is Dr. Jordan Peterson.
I find his eloquent articulation of what he believes and observes to be highly compelling.
Some time ago, I bought one of his books - 12 Rules for Life - An Antidote to Chaos, and am making my way through it, having to pause every now and then to ponder upon what he writes in it.
Though this isn't exactly light reading, it's full of thought-provoking information, laid out in Dr. Peterson's engaging style of dry humour. I highly recommend it.
Systems are Designed. Their Flaws Can Also be Designed Away.
It's easy to understand why people in large systems do the things they do.
Because the systems are composed of so many working parts, a tiny error somewhere can eventually lead to a cascade of catastrophe.
Or at least that's what the fear is.
As a result, most of the people working within these systems are terrified that they are going to get punished for causing a malfunction, so they opt for a "better safe than sorry", "have all my bases covered" approach to everything.
This results in blanket policies, reactive strategies, and a general unwillingness to rock the boat, making changes only if absolutely necessary and only after mind-numbingly long periods of time.
Bureaucracy, red tape, infuriatingly inflexible gatekeepers, we've all met them.
And hate them.
And yet, they aren't there by accident. They are there by design.
Which means that they can also be designed away.
Hence the immense importance of thought leadership, safe spaces, and granting autonomy.
Post Your Thoughts Without Pictures
Posting more regularly now, I find that one of my posting blocks has always been finding / making the pictures that are supposed to "enhance" my text.
It's such a waste of time.
I can't remember where I picked up this erroneous idea that, without graphics, nobody is going to read your post.
To demonstrate how pervasive this is, all you have is look at your own feed and count the number of boring stock photos being used that have little to nothing to do with the post.
Sure, quite a number of people are first attracted to interesting graphics, but if you're spending more time on finding or making an "attractive thumbnail" than what you're actually sharing / producing, you need to re-think your priorities.
And IF nobody reads your post because you didn't put up a graphic, it kind of shows what kind of audience you've been cultivating and contributing to.
Seriously, cut the graphics, unless you're actually talking about them or using them to make your point.
Words alone are fine.
P/S
If you're one of the rare few who also posts without pictures, I read your posts when I come across them.