Welcome to the blog – advice, opinions and musings on how to make words work
When many people set out to write a report or proposal, they start with a standard template or adapt a previous document. On the surface, this makes sense. After all, why waste time reinventing the wheel? Surely anything that...
I hope you are well. No, really – I do. But have you ever noticed how those five words have become the default opener for almost every email? Why do...
You might think of artificial intelligence mainly as a new way to draft short emails or outline reports in seconds. If you do, you're in good...
AI is already transforming how many of us write. But evidence is beginning to emerge that it may also be harming our organisations in a way that...
I’ll never forget the first time I was asked to write a report. I had recently graduated and was two months into a new job with the Environmental...
Simplicity is often misunderstood and underrated. One of the biggest myths in business writing is that complex topics need complex documents. The...
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Years ago, not long after I started Emphasis, I found myself in conversation with a young training manager for one of the UK’s biggest companies. We...
Many of us are still hoovering up pine needles from the living room carpet. There may even be a lone chocolate rattling around the Quality Street...
Disappointingly, the good people at the Oxford English Dictionary have chosen not to name Documentese as their 2024 Word of the Year. But as their...
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....
It's one thing when stress intrudes on your own working day. But when you're responsible for a team, their stress is your stress too. If you're...
If you're ever feeling down about what you've achieved in life, this surprising fact might cheer you up. You managed to rewire your own brain before...
As you read this, a miracle is happening. Your eye is detecting dots and squiggles on the screen in front of you and your brain is...
A while ago (OK, quite a while ago), I announced that I was starting a research project on the science of written communication, with a view to...
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As a learning and development professional, you'll know only too well the wide range of documents, updates, posts and messages you have to write in...
You may or may not be tempted to visit a tailor the next time you want to buy a suit. But you probably know that if you did, you'd end up with...
The first draft of a document is usually something like the proverbial first pancake: a less-than-ideal shape, a little thin in some parts and...
Presentations are known for striking fear in the hearts of many. But, for some, the terror of presenting is surpassed only by having to field...
We cap our small-group training at ten delegates per course. Eight is even better. But these limits may seem a little stingy at first – especially...
An estimated one billion people in the world now speak English as a second language. That number will only grow. Meanwhile, some big international...
What do you want your writing style to say about you? What impression do you hope the things you write at work leave on those who read them? We know...
Training is only worthwhile if it works. It needs to do far more than simply let you tick a box. That’s why we’re proud that the Learning and...
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