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’...
View ArticleVerbal 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...
View ArticleQuit 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...
View Article10 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...
View ArticleIn 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...
View ArticleWanted: 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...
View ArticleEven 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...
View ArticleIt’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...
View ArticleYour 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...
View ArticleFour 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...
View ArticleDo 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...
View ArticleIn 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...
View ArticleThink 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....
View ArticleYou 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...
View ArticleRefuse 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....
View ArticleLeaders: 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...
View ArticleEverybody 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...
View ArticleTo 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...
View ArticleWhy 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...
View Article5 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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