David Olney 23 May, 2022 I am pleased to share the new Articles page on my website with you. The Articles page is where I am going to put longer pieces of writing and combined versions of shorter pieces that belong together. davidolney.com.au/articles/ I hope you enjoy reading this new content, and I would be […]

David Olney 22 May, 2022 It is the afternoon of 22 May, 2022, and it is not yet clear whether Anthony Albanese will lead a majority or minority Labor government here in Australia. However, what is clear today is that yesterday’s election was a victory for Australian democracy. Rather than deciding which of the two […]

David Olney 9 May, 2022 The final aspect of Blair Warren’s book, The One Sentence Persuasion Course, I have chosen to write about is a new insight that he added to the updated version. On top of recommending that the most effective way to persuade people is to encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay […]

Earlier in the week a friend sent me the following line to think about: “Russia is playing Poker, NATO is playing Chess, and China is playing Go. What is winning? Who will win?” When I received his message, I didn’t have time to give it more than a few minutes thought, and when the line […]

Western media coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has moved from showing the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people, to showing the aftermath of Russia’s abhorrent war crimes. It is especially important that people everywhere understand what the war in Ukraine is like, and what is at stake on a local and global level, […]

One month into Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and the news is still better than most analysts expected it would be. The Ukrainians are fighting valiantly and the Russians appear to be bogged down. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become the highly capable, charismatic, and stoic leader that his country and the world need right now. What […]

If you want to persuade people, then you need to keep five key things in mind, and to seamlessly integrate as many of them into your communication as possible: encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies. For those of you who read […]

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began two weeks ago, Western journalists and commentators have been looking for a way to explain President Putin’s motivations and war aims. They have frequently considered whether he is, or isn’t, rational, and what it would take to make him stop Russian military action. What I hear when I […]

I feel compelled by a bone-deep sense of shame to write this blog post about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the West’s pathetic response to the invasion. It is the morning of Monday, 28 February, as I write this post, so lots of things might change by the time you read this blog. Before […]

During the first year of my Master of Media in Strategic Communication, I decided to listen to Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence, to add depth to what I was learning in class. At the time, I enjoyed listening to his anecdotes, analysis, descriptions of his experiments, and his conclusions. The importance of reciprocity, social proof, scarcity, […]