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Read MoreFind your Creative Voice in the Workplace
I love my job. When I talk to people about what I do to earn money, they often respond with a sigh and then a dismal, “I wish I could do something I love”. I am in a creative environment and my creative voice is part of my company brand. My present way of earning money is deliberate and the result of many years of learning and making mistakes. The world is changing. The rules for happiness are...
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Read MoreWhose line is it anyway?
I received a phone call from a cellular company congratulating me because I would receive a cell phone. Another cell phone? Surely, the caller would notice that I already had a cell phone seeing that she dialled my number to speak to me. Intrigued I wanted to see what this particular company was going to offer. I told her I was interested and wanted to know how to claim my prize. The telesales person warms...
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Read MoreThe Language of Meaningful Content
“I don’t know the rules of grammar. If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language.” David Ogilvy Writers use words with intent. They understand that the language needs to support the purpose of the document: informing, entertaining, persuading or educating. Ad people realise that certain words have an emotional connection...
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Read MoreMake Your Point
Lynne Truss’s book Eats Shoots & Leaves is an entertaining book about punctuation. The blurb of the book provides a humorous anecdote about the misuse of punctuation. It explains that a panda walks into a café, orders a sandwich, eats it, draws a gun and fires shots in the air. The waiter is confused and asks why. The panda gives him a badly punctuated wildlife manual and asks him to look up panda...
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Read MoreThe Business Writer’s Guide to Great Style
Stop for a minute and examine your company’s written communication. Notice the spelling of words such as organisation/organization. How do the people in your company write numbers when communicating with clients? Do they know that acronyms can cause confusion? For example, BA can have different meanings in different industries. Try these for size: business analyst, British Airways, Bachelor of Art...
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Read More*Yawn* Phrases in Business Emails
According to a study conducted by The Radicati Group Inc, the typical corporate email user sends and receives about 105 email messages per day. That is a lot of ‘commercial noise’ in a user’s inbox. How does a business ensure that important emails are read and not deleted? By applying the rule, keep it short and simple. This means pruning out the many useless phrases that thrive in business...
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Read MoreAvoiding Sparrow (or Monkey) posts
Penny Sparrow has become an overnight success for all the wrong reasons. Sparrow’s post has landed her in big poo and she is now receiving death threats, her former employers are threatening to sue her as are prominent activists. Using ‘monkey’ in her post was the reveal about her feelings. What Sparrow considered to be an innocent observation about black people celebrating the festive season on...
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Read MoreThe Politics of the Pronoun
The politician is the ultimate salesperson. Speeches are the platform for gaining power and are drafted with this purpose in mind. Special attention is given to the simple pronoun; that obscure part of speech so often taken for granted by the average person. Barack Obama’s famous slogan for the 2008 Presidential Campaign, “Yes We Can” shows the power of the pronoun. The power of this simple slogan is...
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You Can Submit a Better Manuscript
Becoming a best-selling author is the driving force behind every aspiring writer. Only the most determined make it. Writer’s Support offers an advisory service to help bring your manuscript to the required...
Read MoreFind your Creative Voice in the Workplace
I love my job. When I talk to people about what I do to earn money, they often respond with a sigh and then a dismal, “I wish I could do something I love”. I am in a creative environment and my creative voice...
Read MoreWhose line is it anyway?
I received a phone call from a cellular company congratulating me because I...
Read MoreDo you need to believe in love to be able to write romance?
Guest Blog by Suzanne Jefferies Love is a many splendoured thing. All you need...
Read MoreThe Language of Meaningful Content
“I don’t know the rules of grammar. If you’re trying to persuade...
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