How to Write ____

Alexandra wrote to ask what to write in a follow-up email to people she meets at important meetings in Bucharest. At the meetings, she often talks to potential clients or partners for only a few minutes, and she would like to take those brief contacts to… continue reading

We are celebrating the fifth anniversary of Better Writing at Work, our monthly e-newsletter, or ezine. Given my five years of experience, I share these tips for creating and writing electronic newsletters. Please share your tips too. Be sure your content is practical, something your subscribers can use. Be honest:… continue reading

Today I received an email from a client, Marie, whose job is being eliminated at a prestigious investment company. She wrote to say goodbye. Because her email is an excellent example of how to say goodbye with class and to keep professional relationships strong, I asked her… continue reading

In a professional discussion board I am a part of, there has been talk lately about coming up with topics for blogs. Some people are not posting to their business blogs as often as they want to, because they can't think of things to blog… continue reading

In a business writing class I taught recently, a participant shared a performance appraisal he had written about his work during the fourth quarter. He repeatedly included statements like "The deadline was met" instead of "I met the deadline," and "The results pleased the clients" instead… continue reading

In the United States, Thanksgiving is less than a month away. And Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are not far behind. It's not too soon to be thinking about writing holiday greetings to customers, clients, employees, and others around the world. For a quick review of just… continue reading

My friend Sadie asked for help with a resume (also known as a curriculum vitae), and I was happy to oblige. Sadie’s resume began with her name, email and street addresses, and phone numbers. So far, so good. Sadie’s first heading was Objective, which read:… continue reading

I received this message from Jen: As a service-oriented company, we send out birthday and anniversary cards to our clients and close business associates. The last thing we want is to be cookie-cutter, so can you please consider providing some tips to personalize these types… continue reading

The secret of successful instructions is to have an inexperienced user try to follow them before they are published. As the user follows each step, the wise writer watches for glitches, places where the instructions confuse or mislead the reader. Then the writer makes repairs… continue reading