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Unfortunately, winter has arrived with a not-so-pleasant gift: my first (and hopefully only) cold of the season. My hacking cough and unwelcome germs are certainly not something I'd wish upon anyone, so I'm taking refuge in the basement for the time being. Naps and isolation are my current weapons in this battle against the sniffles. Wishing you health and happiness wherever you are!

Thanks for reading!

📰 News & Notes

New Research Suggests Humans Prefer AI-Generated Content

In a fascinating twist, recent MIT research reveals that people actually prefer content generated by AI over that crafted by human professionals. This study compared human and AI-created content in product descriptions and persuasive ad campaign content. Surprisingly, content fully written by AI or edited by AI was favored by readers. Even more intriguing, disclosing the AI origin of the content didn't diminish its appeal. This finding challenges the notion that persuasive communication is a uniquely human skill, especially in the context of straightforward, well-defined tasks.

🎯 Take away: A recent MIT study shows people prefer AI-generated content, highlighting AI's rising influence in persuasive writing.

Unleash Your Inner PowerPoint Hero with Slidewise – Free Subscriptions Up for Grabs

If you work with PowerPoint and want to save time and avoid frustration, you need Slidewise. It is a problem-solving super-tool that can find and fix problems in no time! Loaded with clever features to make you look like a PowerPoint superhero. Say goodbye to relying on colleagues, forums, or your IT help desk — because you won't need them.

The creator of Slidewise, Mike Power, is giving away 10 free one-year subscriptions to the first 10 readers of this newsletter who claim them.

Even if you miss out, you can still save 50% (through December 15) —a no-brainer of a deal. You can learn more and download a 30-day trial from their website.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to streamline your PowerPoint workflow!

🎯 Take away: An early holiday present for anyone who has ever tried to tackle tricky PowerPoint problems like font issues, unwieldy slide masters, giant file sizes, and more.  

Eight Ways Your Perception of Reality Is Skewed

Clearly, many forces below our conscious awareness affect our perceptions, thoughts, and decisions, and errors abound. Becoming cognizant of those influences could keep us from making costly misjudgments or creating unnecessary conflicts with others who see things differently. The ultimate benefit of that? Hopefully, having a little humility might help all of us to act with less hubris and be more open to other points of view.

🎯 Take away:  A new book explains the sometimes-unconscious forces that shape what we see, feel, and think.

🧰 Tech Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new Work Smarter newsletter.

🎧 Podcast

This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.

🧳 Where’s Mike?

• ATD ICE, New Orleans May 19-22, 2024

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