Welcome to the blog – advice, opinions and musings on how to make words work
Much of what we write often sails way over our readers’ heads. The problem is that we take our own knowledge for granted and assume that everyone else knows it too. As I explained recently, we all know more than we think. Even if you're new to a topic yourself, it’s...
The headline almost leapt out of my screen. It was June 2020. Every day was bringing another batch of harrowing news stories. Yet this one, on the...
One of the biggest killers of great ideas (and even greater careers) has to be impostor syndrome. I've met countless professionals who were held...
I've got a quick question for you. How many people live in the Australian capital of Sydney? Is it two million? Five million? Seven million? The...
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.
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...
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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...
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...
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...
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...
Start with the reader in mind Do they know much about the topic? Do they understand your jargon or acronyms? How important is this information to...
Beware the 'yawn factor’ when selling your organisation in writing. Attention spans are short and lots of clichéd customer-service terminology...
Plain language need not mean dumbing down. Clear, well-drafted advice makes things easier for clients, raising the chance that they will call on you...
Corporate jargon and management buzzwords are persistent pests. We train around two thousand people a year in business-writing skills. But we've yet...
Some sentences leave you gasping for breath. Try reading aloud this extract from the minutes of a recent meeting of West Lindsey District Council,...
Imagine you've got to write a set of instructions for a total stranger; no, millions of total strangers. It's a huge audience, made up of people...
We’re lucky here in Emphasis Towers. Five minutes from Brighton beach and five minutes from the station, we really have got the best of both...
The pressure on Barack Obama as he makes his inaugural speech later today will be almost unimaginable. As 'Dubya' dons his spurs and rides into the...
Lawyers are not renowned for their punchy prose. But clients do not have time to be baffled by confusing terminology and verbosity; nor do they...
New research reveals that an inability or reluctance to use plain English – or to keep it short and simple (KISS) – is still the single...
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