Welcome to the blog – advice, opinions and musings on how to make words work
There’s one critical problem with most articles and videos on ChatGPT. And it’s glaringly obvious to anyone who works in a sizeable organisation. Not that there's any shortage of professionals who are now leaning on AI to make writing easier. As each month goes by,...
I faced a slightly awkward moment in a meeting recently. Some consultants were presenting their ideas to me, but I stopped them five seconds into...
A colleague had a bizarre experience recently. While browsing the website of a well-known electrical-goods company, she idly clicked the Get Help...
Some rules are made to be broken – even ones that I laid down just a few weeks ago. You know how I said recently that it's usually best to put your...
How much do big words and flowery phrases really impress our peers? A lot less than many people think, it seems. I've talked before about the...
Have you ever wondered why you can never seem to get a document written until its deadline is looming? You might have been paralysed by writer's...
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I confess that I can be a little paranoid at times. And never more so than when I'm sending important emails. It usually goes something like this....
A client contacted us recently while still recovering from a mild trauma. He was the head of risk at an investment bank and had just finished...
If you ever struggle with writing at work, take comfort in knowing that to do it at all should be impossible. In fact, the whole idea of...
The strange thing about writer's block is often it's not writing that's the problem at all. It's thinking. 'Thinking is to humans as swimming is to...
Should you write: a) 'Last autumn, I led the Pegasus project', or b) 'Last autumn, I lead the Pegasus project'? The answer is a). Led is the past...
What do data, bacteria, agendas and paninis all have in common? Their ability to ignite a singular vs plural debate. Why so much confusion? Well,...
Annual reports should be focused, well written and dynamic – and, above all, they mustn't shy away from giving a clear and accurate message. A good...
Is it complimentary or complementary? Of course, it depends. This is one of the trickiest homophones to remember, partly because the spellings are...
A book about fonts does sound a little dull on first impression, I’ll admit, writes Gordon MacDonald. Who really cares about the shape of letters?...
Nelson Mandela once said, ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes...
Adverbs convey information about how things happen, as well as when, where and to what extent. As the name suggests, they modify verbs – but they...
Right, affect and effect: let's tackle the difference. Well, if you mix up your words, it can affect a reader’s opinion of you – and...
At Emphasis, we're always highlighting the importance of keeping your reader at the front of your mind. In the past, that reader would always be...
When inviting a bid, clients sometimes ask you to include mini biographies, also known as pen portraits, of the potential team. Here, we show you...
Brand identity is important to business, and having a brand name with impact is a big part of that. But when the name breaks the standard rules of...
Every now and then, you’ll come across someone who insists that different to and different than are wrong, and that only different from is correct....
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