20 phrases writers will never utter

Whether it’s because we write for a living or because we write in a corporate environment, corporate communicators have idiosyncrasies. We balance arbitrary demands of clients and executives with the need to craft clear and concise messages. We argue that lazy corporate verbs such should be banned from our company publications. We correct grammar in the books that we read out loud to our kids. We catch typos everywhere—even when we’re not looking for them. In deference to every eccentric writer out there, here are 20 phrases no writer would ever say: “The hyphen...

How do you define collaboration?

It sounds like a silly question—one you might be asked during an employee training session. It could be a question in a job interview or something your teenager Google searches at the last minute before debate class. How do you define collaboration? As corporate communicators, we all know what collaboration is. We also know—after years of painstaking experience—that collaboration is often more effective in theory than in practice. At my company, there are certain people who refuse to work together, and there are others whose attempts at collaboration lead to meeting...

11 posts for PR pros

“I am surprised to see how much I have written; with stories, even a page can take me hours, but the truth seems to flow out as fast as I can get it down.”—from Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle.   Having recently published my 300th blog post, I can now say with assurance, “I wrote a blog about that once,” whenever my colleagues bring up random discussion topics. Below are a few posts of mine that might be useful to corporate communicators and PR pros: Does a friend or loved one have trouble with hyphens? Heading off hyphenation headaches Have trouble...

8 more logical fallacies to avoid

It’s great to have the courage of your convictions, but you need more than that to put forth a winning argument. In last week’s post, I offered 11 logical fallacies and why it’s important to recognize them in what we see, read and hear. Such fallacies weaken arguments; employing them can make you and your organization less credible. Here are a few more logical fallacies to be aware of: 1. Anecdotal evidence Using personal experience or an isolated example instead of a valid argument or compelling evidence to state your position; often used to dismiss...

11 logical fallacies to avoid

In a time of fake news, “alternative facts,” Newspeak, and attacks on credible journalism, I’ve focused on teaching my kids how to recognize logical fallacies in what they see, hear, and read. Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning that weaken arguments. Once you start looking for them, they’re shockingly obvious. How many of the following logical fallacies can you spot in one day? 1. Ad populum — arguing that because “everyone,” “Americans” or “the majority” thinks or does something, it must be true and right. Example: Whether Earth is flat or...

Can you complete these great first lines...

For this week’s post, I offer readers a distraction. Take a break from writing that social media post, white paper or annual report message, and test your literary knowledge. Fill in the blanks for these renowned first lines in literature: 1. “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking ____________.” “1984” by George Orwell 2. “In a hole in the ground there lived a ____________.” “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien 3. “It was a pleasure to ____________.” “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury 4. “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from...