Are you confident in your business writing skills? Or do you get a little nervous when you have to write something for work? Like an email to your boss or a presentation for a meeting perhaps? I can relate. I made my living as a writer for two decades, and I still get nervous when I write for work…even as I write this blog post! But I have a secret weapon that I know gives me an edge—and I’m going to share it with you in this blog post. This secret weapon will power up your business writing skills and boost your confidence. The...
Want advice that will help your relationships AND your writing at work? Read on! Here’s the scenario: The husband tells me “I washed the dishes.” And so starts a sequence of events that has played out many times in our household—one that can be avoided, both in our marriages and in our writing at work. Why? Because while he did in fact wash some of the dishes, he did not in fact wash all of the dishes. And that lack of specific wording sets up an expectation on my part that’s not met, leading to frustration. He was not specific and...
Are you still working from home (WFH)? Or, as a client put it to me this morning, “living at work”? As challenging as it can be, those of us WFH have gained back a little time in our days because we don’t have to commute. And there, as the one who wants everyone to be a better, faster writer, I see WFH as opening up just a weeee bit of time for people to work on the critical communication skill of writing. Plus, I’ll be honest with you, as the farmer, I have had very little time this July to encourage anyone to do so—including...
Successful writing at work requires more than typing a lot of emails. It requires solid writing skills and a focus on clear and concise communications. And it’s harder than it sounds. In part, that’s because you might be lacking the three business writing skills no one taught you, as I’ve said before. But you’re also up against the culture of our time—a culture that worships busy-ness and task saturation. And you know what kind of work writing comes out of a culture like that? Sucky writing that wastes time and fails to communicate....
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...
