Personal space, only weird if you breach it in the street

There's something weird about getting too close to someone. In the street, I mean... It's just not done. Standing right up 'in someone's face' when talking to them is way too confronting. It is especially so in Australia, where the continental expanse has an unseen effect on our psyche.

Simply put, we all like our personal spaces. It's a zone we own, beyond the boundaries of our homes. It's the unseen barrier that defines your social comfort zone.

Few people cross that line of demarcation.It's just not done. It's weird.

Then again, there is a place where personal space can be invaded. It's the one public space that should be breached. It's not a streetscape. It is, rather, the place you are in right now, the place where you read. Be it a book, magazine, net reader, website, email -- written communication works best when the author crosses a line.

Good writing will enter your personal space. It attracts interest, draws emotion, leaves marks, challenges beliefs, forces decision.

Good writing is not intrusive, but surgical, cutting to your heart with a healing clarity.

'Personal space' is no barrier for a good writer.It's a magnet.

Once upon a time... a story about starting a good story!

'Once upon a time', there was a really bad idea.

It probably began with a noble idea and got lost somewhere after the words, 'Once upon a time...'

Timelines. Chronologies. I am sure they work really well in some forms of learning and tuition. But they kill effective communication.

Starting your words with an emphasis on origins is the worst way to communicate a message. It puts a big emphasis on something other than the point of your story or message.

The thing we need to say is usually the first thing we need to say... not a preparatory context that details the 'diarised' recounting of an event. Backgrounding should stay out of the frame when it comes to the start of effective communication.

As a journalist, I was always taught to get to the point. The 'how' and the 'lead-up' should follow the headline and vital points of the introduction. It is a principle that works so well in all types of communication, especially emails and phone calls.

PS: Once upon a time, there was a story that was way too boring to continue. The end.