Finance is a murky place for many people. Money comes into the bank account and it goes out again. And the process in between is something of a mystery. But even if your clients are financially savvy, it can still be difficult to explain money matters. Accounting has...

Apostrophes are the Marmite of punctuation marks: you either love them or hate them. But if you are one of the many for whom they arouse only feelings of distaste and confusion, perhaps we can set you straight. Go on. It’ll only take four minutes. Listen to our...

Conducting endless research can make you depressed – and not just because you miss all your deadlines. According to psychologist Barry Schwartz, we often find it hard to make up our minds when faced with a surplus of possibilities. And this can make us...

If you need to update your HR policies because of the new Equality Act 2010, now could be a golden opportunity to make them a lot better. The Equality Act brings together legislation regarding discrimination and harassment into a single Act. Since it came into force...

You may recall that six million people have – through no fault of their own – paid the wrong amount of tax over the last few years, thanks to a blunder at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The story dominated the column inches last month, in part because of...

Ask most scientists, engineers and technologists why they got into the profession and they're unlikely to say it was because they love writing. But love it or hate it, writing is an essential part of a scientific career. Report writing skills are crucial to...

How do you avoid confusing your reader when you're writing for non-native English speakers? Expert business-writing trainer Janet Bateman explains: The single most important thing to think about Why you should avoid non-literal expressions Which words are easiest for...

Writing skills is a subject that many trainers claim to be able to provide. Here’s our guide to sorting the wheat from the chaff. Writing analysis It’s important always to build on what trainees know already. So a good provider should start by assessing...

Dignity is an inherent human right, according to the United Nations. (And who are we to argue with them?) But what began as a subject for the UN has apparently (inevitably, some might say) become an issue for Health and Safety. Unions are strongly encouraging private-...

The increasing use of the word ‘recovery’ in the press during the recent financial crisis may have contributed to the UK’s eventual climb out of recession, new research from Emphasis has found. This unique project – the second from the Emphasis...

The media should exercise caution when reporting the Euro crisis, researchers warn, as the language that journalists use seems to be affecting our economic fortunes. According to a new report from the Emphasis Research Centre, there is a strong link between consumer...

Browse the business aisles of any bookshop and you’ll find an array of ‘how-to’ titles. Whether you’re hiring or firing, there’s guaranteed to be a text extolling the latest methods, explains Rob Ashton. It can be tempting to think that...