Most people think their driving is above average. That's a statistical impossibility, of course, otherwise it wouldn't be an average. Still, it's what we believe. In one study, no fewer than 93 per cent of Americans questioned placed themselves in the top 50 per cent...
Rob Ashton
Why writing like you’re in the military misfires
Some say that, in business writing, brevity and clarity are king – and everything else is padding. Forget the waffle, cut the crap, and get straight to the point. Flying the colours for this position is a recent piece in the Harvard Business Review, How to write email...
A step-by-step guide to professional-looking tables
Tables are a staple of many business documents – from management accounts to a marketing plan or an activity update. And most people know how to create a table in Word. What you may not know is how easily you can take your tables from basic (and boring) to impressive...
How to give effective feedback
A colleague gives you a report (or letter or proposal ...), asking for your feedback. It's now suddenly on you to make their document great. Maybe you're a team leader, who has final sign-off on everything your colleague writes. Or you might just be asked by a friend...
Plans are worth nothing without words
There aren't many corporate CEOs who put improving writing skills at the top of their action list. In fact, I've never heard of a single one who stood up at a shareholders' meeting and said, 'We're going to invest in improving how our people communicate in their...
Five unusual tips to inspire original writing
For many people, feeling they have nothing to say is one of their biggest writing challenges. (Unfortunately, there are many more who have nothing to say yet write anyway. We'll come to that in a second.) This is something that much advice on beating writer’s block –...
Grammar pedants: you’re helping less than you think
It seems to happen at least once a week. Usually it's in my Twitter feed or on Facebook. Occasionally it's on LinkedIn. Regardless, I rarely make it through to Friday without someone promoting a post on embarrassing grammar mistakes. 'Seven grammar gaffes that could...
Stop writing for superheroes. Board members are human too.
'What people don't realise,' Nick said, 'is that I'm just like them. I get tired. I worry about stuff. I think maybe I should get to the gym more. And I have too much on my plate. I'm not superhuman.' Nick is the European COO of a company that employs 130,000 people....
The 15 writing habits of people who build amazing careers
One of the great pleasures of my job is that I frequently get a chance to talk to people who really are at the top of their game. Over the last 18 years, my colleagues and I have worked with over 40,000 people. And among them have been many industry leaders who have...
‘We always write it like that.’ But why?
Sometimes we can’t remember why we do things a certain way. This is certainly the case with company reports and other documents. It may not always be the best way – far from it – but that’s the way they’re written and that’s that. ‘We must always start with two pages...
How should you punctuate bullet points?
Bullet points can be a very useful addition to your documents. They can make it easy for your reader to quickly take in important information or instructions. But once you have your bullet list, how should you punctuate it? Should you use capital letters? Are...
How to control email (and free yourself)
If there’s one area that unites most professionals, it’s the struggle with email. Whether it’s how to manage the daily deluge of messages in our inboxes, how to respond to them or how to write them so they don’t lead to misunderstandings, finding ways to control email...