Follow these steps to write your best co...

“Watch out for the undertow. And please, wear sunscreen. And remember. It’s possible to have the time of your life while following the rules.” My teenager is leaving on a school trip, a stay at the beach to celebrate the end of the school year. As I dropped him off this morning, these were my parting words. Driving home, I thought about how this advice applies to writing. Not the undertow or the sunscreen part, but about following the rules. It’s possible to write your best content while following the basic principles of style and usage. Here’s how. Write for...

Efficiencies

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15 ways to end a difficult conversation

Even though I’ve watched countless presentations and webinars on delivering bad news and managing conflict, I’ve never been very skilled in this area. I dread these types of interactions, and seem to struggle most with how to conclude them. These conversations can also be tricky because I immediately jump to problem solving, even though the person I’m speaking with may not want me to solve their problem. They may just want me to listen. So, how do you end a difficult conversation without offering to solve a problem that you can’t necessarily solve.  Here are a few...

27 alternatives to “I hope this email fi...

It seems to be everyone’s default, reflexive email greeting . . . “Hi Ruldolph. I hope this email finds you well.” “I hope this email finds you well” is one of those awkward, forced-interaction phrases that adds little value to the email exchange, but acts as a crutch in the uncomfortable transition between the opening (“Hi Rudolph”) and the reason you’re emailing (“I need you to lead the sleigh tonight”). Such unnecessary phrasing adds to the noise readers are trying to filter out. We’re all writers here. Can we come up with a few alternatives to...

27 quotes from your favorite Halloween m...

If you’ve ever planned a Halloween movie marathon, you know how hard it can be to get everyone to agree on what to watch. Some people love guts and gore, while others are looking for suspense and mystery. Still others prefer cult classics, parodies, and jump scares. If you need help narrowing down the list, check out these horror movie — and faux horror movie — quotes. (Sources: IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and Wikiquote.) 1. “Jason was my son, and today is his birthday.” Mrs. Voorhees, Friday the 13th 2. “It was bad, Mama. They laughed at me.” Carrie White,...

11 nouns that should also be verbs

As writers and editors, PR pros and marketers, many of us are the experts and enforcers of proper usage and grammar at our organizations. The punctuation police. The guardians of the style guide. But sometimes even the rule-makers like to break the rules. Below is a list of nouns that I wish were verbs. Now, I know that you know that using nouns as verbs is generally frowned upon in formal English. But even Shakespeare indulged in this practice. “Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle.” Richard II “Within my mouth you have enjailed my tongue.” Richard...