A paper to the board can be incredibly powerful. But you have to tell them what you want and make sure they actually read it.
The board want insights as well as facts
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Writing Matters
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The report-writing secret that most of us miss
Organisations are full of documents that don't work. The CEO of a London bank recently told me that he'd spent 20 minutes of his last board meeting...
Use this structure for tricky emails
If you're putting off writing a tricky email or text right now, you're not alone. According to a recent poll by YouGov, almost one in three adults...
Are your reports grinding readers down?
Getting someone to read a document is often a bit like pushing a car that won't start. You have to overcome a ton of inertia at first. But it then...
This Netflix technique works for documents too
People read your documents until they can stop. Then they do. But that's not because we have limited attention spans. The truth is that we can focus...
Shorter is not always better
One of the biggest business-writing myths has to be that shorter is always better. 'Less is more,' say those who claim to be in the know. Keep it...
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Don’t let data drag down your documents
Imagine you've just got a text from a friend. Which of these two messages would you react to more strongly? A: 'The forecast doesn't look great...
Why people misread your messages
Have you ever written what you thought was a perfectly clear email, only to get a reply ten minutes later that left you scratching your head?...
Why you miss your biggest typos
Have you ever missed an obvious typo and wondered how? Maybe it was even in a title in bold, 24-point type. Or perhaps you overlooked a howler in a...
Even big topics need small words
Have you ever noticed how something strange happens whenever we sit down to write a document? In person, we might be able to explain even the most...
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Keeping it (un)real
He’s a shrewd one, that Sir Alan Sugar. As he announced in the opening episode of The Apprentice, he realises that knowing every word...
A pollack by any other name
We should all be eating more pollack, for cod’s sake. So say the environmentalists trying to save the perennial partner to chips from an...
How to write health promotion documents
The health sciences have their own language. And those who don’t understand it can simply feel like they’re not part of the club. If...
Writing to save the world
If you're suffering from writer's block at the moment, spare a thought for the civil servants behind today's G20 summit. By 3.30 today, they have to...
I tweet, therefore I am
Thinking about jumping onto this bandwagon. But where will it all end? So might read my inaugural ‘tweet’ – by definition: an...
Mother’s Day or Mothers’ Day?
We had this question from a former course attendee: Hi there Please can you settle a dispute! Is it Mother's Day or Mothers' Day? Many thanks Here's...
Councils ban jargon – but have they missed the mark?
Council leaders have banned some 200 examples of the worst management jargon. But there are signs they've fallen into the lazy-writing trap...
A Friday by any other name
Today, as you may have noticed, is Friday the thirteenth. If that bothers you, then you're not alone. In fact, the fear of Friday the thirteenth...
Clear writing is dangerous
Clear writing is dangerous writing. If you edit out all the padding and get to the point, you might actually say something, and this can be quite...
On the origin of speaking
Last Thursday marked the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin: an event that did not go uncelebrated at Emphasis HQ. And even as we hung the streamers...
Lies, damned lies and statistics
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics. So said Benjamin Disraeli (and later Mark Twain, who was quoting him). Yet...
How to write intros and endings: an audio guide
Business-writing expert Gary Woodward explains: Why intros and endings are so important How to grab a reader's attention How to conclude...
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