How to Write ____

Friends and colleagues who have lost their jobs need to hear from us. But it can be challenging to decide what to say, with job loss having so many sides to it: stress, opportunity, rest, disillusionment, freedom, fear, elation. Or all of the above. Yes, it’s difficult… 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

The usual request for volunteers begins like this: Volunteers Needed! It doesn’t work. That’s because it focuses on the writer’s needs rather than the needs of the reading audience. I just received an excellent call for volunteers from the Cascadia Chapter of ASTD. Here is… continue reading