Writing Tips Archives

Graphic asking if contractions are sloppy with examples of contractions

Don’t Use Contractions?

Are contractions sloppy? That question came to me today when a writing class participant told me she would never use a contraction. And here’s the reason she wouldn’t: A teacher had drilled into her head that their use is wrong. In fact, the participant called… continue reading

Former or Latter? Who Knows?

Every once in a while I find a communication habit I would really like other people to break. Here’s one: the use of the former and the latter. Every time I hear or read "the former . . . the latter" I have to rethink… continue reading

What Does Your Reader Look Like?

My 11-year-old daughter and I were watching a movie The Art of Violin. (She had talked me into watching it as part of her violin practice time.) In it, we watched several famous violinists playing–Yehudi Menuhin, Fritz Kreisler, Isaac Stern, Jascha Heifetz–with commentary about their… continue reading

Email and Your Ego

We have all had the experience of someone misinterpreting our email. Perhaps we were sarcastic, and our reader viewed the message as serious. Maybe we thought we were being funny, and the other person read us as angry. This type of miscommunication happens often in… continue reading

How to Turn Off an Audience

A good speech or presentation starts out as a good piece of writing. Speakers who rouse us to action and thought do not just pour forth brilliant, well-spoken sentences. They write them first–or they have someone else write them. Sometimes when I have spoken briefly… continue reading

Email: Can’t Get a Response?

The other day I was talking with a man named Scott, who asked me whether I agreed with a tip he had picked up in a presentation on writing email. The presenter had said that one should never write to a group–only to individuals–because that… continue reading

“I Apologize”–How to Say It

September 8, 2022 – I’ve been getting requests for tips on how to write an apology, and I am happy to oblige. Interestingly enough, the leading inquiry was how to apologize for missing a meeting. For every piece I write–whether it’s a report, a thank… continue reading

How to Write an Auto-Reply

Email has become such a communication lifeline that it’s hard to imagine not answering it promptly. When we are away from the office for even a day or two, we want people to receive a response from us. We shudder to imagine not sending a… continue reading

What If We Signed Our Email in Ink?

Last week I met with my friend Ira, who is a senior vice president of human resources. We talked about business writing and about the errors that fill email. Here’s one of Ira’s thoughts: We put our name on what we are proud of. Is… continue reading

Email Tip to Avoid Embarrassment

Every week I get an email from someone that wasn’t meant to be sent–at least not in its current state. The next message, sent seconds later, says "Oops! Please ignore my previous message." One way or another, the writer sent the email by mistake. It… continue reading