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Channel: Internal Communication – Spencer Grace
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Relationships matter: communicating across cultures

My favorite place to work is home. Right now I can stare out over my laptop to see yellow, orange and red leaves dropping from the maples in our backyard, creating a crunchy crash pad under the kids’...

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Verbal identity: you can be consistent without being monotonous

This week I spent some time advising a communicator who’s working to improve her company’s understanding of verbal identity. Many organizations have visual identities that specify how people must...

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Quit wasting time and money on newsletters

Newsletters are junk mail. Newsletters are items we are quick to pitch or delete. Their greatest value may be that fleeting sense of satisfaction we feel as the trash hits the bin. We’ve eliminated a...

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10 Commandments for Business Writers

1. Thou shalt not express your interests without first considering what matters to your reader. 2. Thou shalt not mindlessly copy and paste from previous communications, but instead choose the right...

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In business, the best writers are strategists

People pay me to write, to choose the right words for their business messages. They also engage my mind for “bigger” aspects of communication—the kind of consulting assignments I used to refer to as...

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Wanted: poets to turn corporate speak into messages that matter

You know what the business world needs? Poets. Poets carefully choose and arrange words to express an idea, paint a picture, or tell a story. When you’re communicating at work, isn’t that exactly what...

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Even the editor needs an editor

David Remnick is editor of The New Yorker. He’s an accomplished writer, responsible for all the content in one of America’s most respected magazines. Writing must be easy for him. Right? Perfect prose...

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It’s time to divulge your communication super power.

As a person who writes at work, what are your opportunities, and what are your strengths? This is how I invite people to introduce themselves in my writing workshops. In response, people are quick to...

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Your business needs a writers’ room.

Writing by committee sucks. You know the pain. Over days or weeks, contributors cobble together a draft, then pass revisions around by email. One sorry soul amasses and interprets feedback, negotiating...

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Four writing strategies to help you get a little action

“This is just FYI.” Next time you draft that sentence into a business message, stop. Admit that you are either: 1. Wasting your recipient’s time. or 2. Lying. You wouldn’t really bother your busy...

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Do you need permission to break the rules?

You are smart and capable, and very much prepared for the job you do today. Except the writing. Somehow, the rules and ways you learned in the past aren’t doing you any favors when you face the blank...

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In vocabulary, bigger is not better

“Research and write a biography of a person you admire.” Unintimidated, my fourth-grade classmates and I embraced the assignment. We named and studied our heroes, both living and long-gone. One picked...

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Think you can’t take creative chances? Liar!

You face the blank screen. Fingers curved over the keyboard. Preparing to put new words on a new page, you are on the brink of creative action. But then you stop, distracted by the default option....

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You don’t say (real-world lessons in brevity and clarity)

Hey, business person. Yeah, you. The one who keeps putting words on the page, every freaking day. You create a lot of messages. Emails, presentations, reports, posts, requests, responses, and...

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Refuse to be boring. Summon your superpowers.

Once upon a time, you could do anything. No dragon was a match for your pool-noodle sword. You traveled the galaxy in a dish-towel cape. With your teddy bear sidekick, you saved the day—through play....

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Leaders: Your people write poorly. You ask for it. Consistently.

Love it or loathe it, if you’re a business leader, you probably review and approve other people’s words. Email, presentations, reports, proposals, and more. There are bright spots in this work. Moments...

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Everybody needs a little space. White space.

Here’s a little story from my life as a parent. A business lesson follows. I promise. When my youngest was in first grade, during parent-teacher conferences, her teacher handed me a manila folder of...

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To write better, stop agonizing over these 4 things

Writing at work causes so much stress. So many questions. So much doubt. Is this comma in the right place? Is that a run-on sentence? Do you need who or whom? If you click “send” now, how long ‘til...

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Why aren’t you doing these 4 simple things to build your reputation?

Did you know that what you’re NOT doing can imperil what you are doing? As a writer, I spend hours obsessing over what to communicate. What shall we say? Which words say it best? In what order? But...

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5 things you can do to win the room with your next presentation

When you’re presenting, a good story will get you noticed, hold your audience’s attention, and inspire action. Make that a good story well told. Because just as important as what you say is how you say...

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