Do paragraph transitions sound boring? Yeah. They sound boring to me too. But you need them. And if I can work through the boring to write this post, you can work through the boring to read it. So keep reading… First off, I know I’m not the only out there making online classes to help people be better writers at work. However, I think I’m the only one basing my lessons on copywriting techniques vs. taking the approach of a strict English teacher. Yet there are times when we have to get granular. And when that happens, my advice...
With the pandemic and people working from home, we’ve all heard about the empty highways and lack of traffic. At my house, I have probably heard more about it than most because my husband was commuting each day—and enjoying the easy drive. (He works in aircraft maintenance, so WFH was not an option.) As our stay-at-home order ends and people hit the road once more, my husband’s commute is clogging up again, and that got me thinking about paragraphs. Yes, paragraphs. When paragraphs don’t flow, when writing lacks transitions or ideas...
I don’t need to keep telling you writing skills have spiraled downward in this country. You can see it all around you, even at the highest levels of government. And if you don’t see it all around you, follow me on LinkedIn where I post real-life mistakes. You’ll become a believer. Nor do you need me to tell you that poor writing skills have a cost—although you probably don’t realize just how astronomically high that cost is. So I’ll share a few shocking numbers with you: Poor writing skills cost American companies almost $400...
I love to cook. In fact, I love to cook so much that I wanted to make this whole post on effective business writing about food and cooking instead. But I didn’t. OK, I started out saying waaaaaay too much about cooking. But then I revised it. So, no, this post isn’t going to make your mouth water or give you dinner ideas. But it will give you an analogy for effective business writing by pointing out the parallels between the writing you do at work and the cooking you do at home. Read through the post to see the parallels, and then...
Is there an author or blogger or even someone at work whose writing impresses you every time? Some writers have that knack, to take words and turn them into “wow” with seemingly little effort. It’s like watching a star athlete at the top of her game flawlessly execute a move on the field. And in reality, the writer’s ease with words came about in the same way as the athlete’s ease with maneuvers: Some inborn talent, but countless hours of diligent practice and improvement! Maybe you don’t have time to devote to honing your writing...
Have you ever formed a first impression about someone based on how they write? I suspect we all have. First impressions are powerful and hard to avoid. Even when we want to stay objective, we are sizing up the other person without meaning to. We can make assumptions about a person’s intelligence, education level, professionalism, skill level, trustworthiness, authority, kindness, approachability, and more—much more—based on how they write. First impressions matter, and, as the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a...
