Even if you use ChatGPT “just for research,” it’s still dangerous

Even if you use ChatGPT “just for research,” it’s still dangerous

I’d never use ChatGPT to write for me: it’s both boring and unreliable. But that said, it’s still quite useful, especially as a replacement for search (I’m using ChatGPT-4, which integrates with Microsoft Bing including up-to-date content.) The research method is simple: ask ChatGPT to find things, then check the source it finds to see…

Collaborating on research: the value of multiple perspectives
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Collaborating on research: the value of multiple perspectives

Two or three researchers can do better than one. Here’s how to take advantage of that. For the purposes of this post, I’m talking about Web research that informs writing, whether that’s an article, a book, a white paper, or an internal document. Even if you’re doing actual primary research, such a survey or interviews,…

Nuggets, or how to not write a piece that’s a boring lecture

Nuggets, or how to not write a piece that’s a boring lecture

A lecture is you standing up and droning on about what you think, based on your voluminous experience. It’s boring in person, and it’s a deadly way to write. In today’s short-attention-span world, a lecture is a good way to get people to click away from the post, stop reading the book, and give up…

How to write a book chapter
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How to write a book chapter

I write business books. Every chapter is a 5,000-word package full of stories, detail, statistics, insights, and recommendations. You don’t just sit down and write one of those at random. Here’s what it takes to create one. In the last 10 years I’ve written, cowritten, or ghostwritten six books. Five of them were case-study powered business…