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Halfalogue

Two people enjoying a dialogue, one falling asleep to a monologue, and one being distracted from their book by a halfalogue

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You know that time when you couldn't concentrate at all because of someone having a phone conversation right next to you? It's the trouble with a halfalogue. Hearing only one side of a conversation, it turns out, can be more distracting than hearing the whole dialogue. This might stem from the unpredictability of the conversation — our brains working overtime to connect the dots and uncertain what's coming next.

Halfalogues were investigated in a paper by Lauren Emberson and coauthors: Overheard Cell-Phone Conversations: When Less Speech Is More Distracting . The distraction potential of halfalogues could have more serious impacts on a driver from a passenger's phone conversation in the back.

A halfalogue is a nice extension of the dialogue and monologue.

Here's a halfalogue sketch by itself

Emberson, Lauren & Lupyan, Gary & Goldstein, Michael & Spivey, Michael. (2010). Overheard Cell-Phone Conversations: When Less Speech Is More Distracting. Psychological science. 21. 1383-8. 10.1177/0956797610382126.

Published 9 Oct 2022

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Umbrella and Funnel management style example explained: Todd Jackson's shit umbrella or shit funnel metaphor shown with on the left, the effective manager uses an umbrella to shield their team from a downpour of tasks and requests coming from all directions. This sheltered team are focussed and productive and celebrate their achievements. On the right, in place of the umbrella, the less effective manager uses a funnel as a catch-all, showering their team with actions, sending the team members running scared.

Umbrellas and funnels

The Data Prison illustration: shows 2 tables with identical data describing a schedule of work and fun for every day of the week. The "imprisoned" data in the table on the left is separated by lines in a grid. The "freed" data in the table on the right has no lines, and instead uses shading and spacing.

The data prison

What is Manager Time Maker Time example explained: Paul Graham's manager schedule maker schedule illustrated with Manager Time, on the left shows someone in their office at their laptop, scheduling in meetings and calls throughout the day, neatly managing time with hourly and half-hourly slots in their calendar. On the right, Maker Time ideally does away with any scheduled meetings or calls to allow for an open day for our worker at their desk to grind through a complex problem or new project. The passing of time is only marked by day turning to night.

Manager time, maker time

What is The golden circle from Simon Sinek example explained: illustrated with the start with why circles, and Martin Luther King and the "I have a dream," not the "I have a plan," speech

The golden circle

The Fundamental Attribution Error illustration: a driver assuming someone is rude when they swerved in front of them rather than considering that they may have been running late and it been an accident - attributing character over context

The Fundamental Attribution Error

The best writing is re-writing

A manager or leader can be an umbrella or a funnel. An umbrella shields the team from distractions, last-minute changes, and conflicting priorities, creating a protective space where they can focus and thrive. This umbrella management style ensures the team has the clarity and autonomy needed to do their work. A funnel, however, allows every request, deadline, and distraction to pour straight through, leaving the team overwhelmed and struggling to keep up. As organisations grow, the demands on a team often increase dramatically—especially in areas like product management at tech companies. Left unchecked, these demands can drain a team’s time, energy, and ability to focus on what really matters. Todd Jackson, former product manager of Gmail, captured this perfectly with the umbrella and funnel analogy: great managers act as umbrellas, shielding their teams and enabling progress. Poor managers, by contrast, become funnels that overload their teams. All of us want autonomy to choose our own actions, but none of us want to be overwhelmed. Be the umbrella. Related ideas: Push authority to information Manager time, maker time (or Manager's Schedule, Maker's Schedule)…A manager or leader can be an umbrella or a funnel. An umbrella shields the team from distractions, last-minute changes, and conflicting priorities, creating a protective space where they can focus and thrive. This umbrella management style ensures the team has the clarity and autonomy needed to do their work. A funnel, however, allows every request, deadline, and distraction to pour straight through, leaving the team overwhelmed and struggling to keep up. As organisations grow, the demands on a team often increase dramatically—especially in areas like product management at tech companies. Left unchecked, these demands can drain a team’s time, energy, and ability to focus on what really matters. Todd Jackson, former product manager of Gmail, captured this perfectly with the umbrella and funnel analogy: great managers act as umbrellas, shielding their teams and enabling progress. Poor managers, by contrast, become funnels that overload their teams. All of us want autonomy to choose our own actions, but none of us want to be overwhelmed. Be the umbrella. Related ideas: Push authority to information Manager time, maker time (or Manager's Schedule, Maker's Schedule)

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