I recently led a Better Business Writing class for a well-respected company in one of its large training rooms. The room had two doors, one at either end. Each door had a sign next to it. I believe the signs were saying the same thing,… continue reading
Entitled or Titled?
On Monday I led seminars for the communications group of a huge company. When I asked this sophisticated audience to find errors in sentences, they identified an error I did not intend. Here is the sentence: She was quoting from a white paper entitled "Avoiding… continue reading
Sending the “Wrong” Message With Quote Marks
Yesterday an art director wrote with a request for validation that she is correct. Copywriters who submit their work to her have been using quotation marks to emphasize words. But she believes that the marks have the opposite effect–that they, in fact, undermine the message.… continue reading
First Person Pronouns (I and We) in Reports
Elizabeth, who works for a nonprofit agency, phoned the other day for help on a report. She was writing the report to explain how her program had used a financial grant to partner with another agency to provide services. Elizabeth was stumbling over we in… continue reading
Great Resources on FAQ
If you write frequently asked questions (FAQ), check out these excellent resources from E-WRITE: Frequently Asked Questions Style GuideE-WRITE wrote this style guide for the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Government. Even if you don't write FAQs, it is a good example of a… continue reading
What’s Up With Email Slogans and Sayings?
Yesterday in a writing seminar I asked the group of 10 participants how many of them liked philosophical sayings or quotations at the end of an email. Here is the result: Percentage who like sayings and quotations in email: 0% It was a friendly group… continue reading
Verb Tenses for Meeting Minutes
Peter wrote recently to ask about the appropriate verb tenses to use in meeting minutes. Read these sentence pairs he asked about and decide which sentences sound better for meeting notes and minutes. A. John said the next meeting will be on October 1. B.… continue reading
Make It Easy for Customers to Behave
I am taking a cross-country plane trip tonight, and this morning two companies helped me do that more easily: Alaska Airlines and National Car rental. When I checked my email this morning, both of them had sent messages to make my travel easier. Alaska wrote… continue reading
Celebrating Emoticons–No, Not Me
I admit it here for anyone to read: I am not a fan of emoticons. You will not catch me using a 🙂 or a 😉 or a (:0) . Except for the sentence I just typed, I will never make you turn your head… continue reading
Sweating Bullets or Very Anxious: You Choose
The other day I received an email reply from a client. Here is the entire message: PHEW. I was sweating bullets over that one. . . . Story later. I understood exactly what she meant. Here is a translation into explicit business writing: I am… continue reading