4 ways to improve quotes in press releas...

What will sink your press release faster than an iceberg on a foggy night? Well, besides clichés, superlatives, and meaningless terms such as “cutting-edge,” using poorly worded quotes will have reporters hitting the delete button before they read your third paragraph. Don’t fall victim to this problem. Consider the following tips as you are crafting your press release. Trash those lazy verbs A common problem with press release quotes is that they’re full of lazy corporate verbs such as synergize, utilize, leverage, or facilitate. “We are leveraging...

Resist the urge to ‘dumb down’ your cont...

Writing myths are everywhere. In my 14-plus years as a writer and editor, I have heard everything from “good writers don’t need to be edited” to “you shouldn’t sit down to write until you know exactly what you want to say.” The myth that I find the most misguided: Writers should “dumb down” their content so everyone, everywhere can read it. Pure fiction! The first rule of writing is to write for your audience. Take their current level of knowledge into account, and use language they know and feel comfortable with. Don’t write for sixth-graders if...

Plagiarism versus paraphrasing: Ensure y...

Next o’er his books his eyes began to roll, In pleasing memory of all he stole; How here he sipp’d, how there he plunder’d snug All suck’d o’er like an industrious bug. — Alexander Pope Over the past few weeks, several articles have appeared in PR Daily about plagiarism. One involved a medical school dean who had lifted passages from a speech originally given by Dr. Atul Gawande. Another involved the principal at a New York school for writers. If these allegations prove true, it’s unlikely that these individuals can credibly claim they didn’t know they...

12 unusual words that describe words

Like many other word groupies, I love to collect words. I keep a running list of my favorite ones in the notes application on my smartphone. And though I may never be in a situation to legitimately say or write any of these words, I keep them all the same. Lately, I’ve been interested in words about words. We all know about acronyms and euphemisms, but what about an ananyms and dysphemisms? Below are some of my favorite words about words and examples of their use. Ananym – A type of anagram, formed by reversing letters of another word. For example, an “emirp”...

If you love the OED . . .

Calling all Oxford English Dictionary groupies, Oxford University Press has produced a series of YouTube videos called “Writing the OED.” These videos give you an insider’s look at world’s most definitive dictionary and the people who work there. My favorite is New Words. Please sir, may I come in and work on the dictionary with you?

Why use a complex word when a simpler on...

Years spent editing articles written by attorneys (whose writing is purposefully vague) and physicians (whose writing is full of specialized language) have taught me the value of using simple words in place of complex ones. The use of unfamiliar or complex terms interferes with comprehension and slows readers down. Readers may even skip terms they don’t understand, hoping to find their meaning in the rest of the sentence. Readers are not impressed by the use of complex words; they’re frustrated by them. Take “use” and “utilize.” According to the Oxford...