A substantial portion of my communication is done electronically through e-mail, texts, blogs, Twitter, websites, etc. It’s fast, convenient, efficient—but you know all that. Even so, since I was a small child, I have loved getting real mail: envelopes and packages delivered to me by the USPS. In the last year, the volume of [...]
One of the first questions I ask when beginning a new project is: Who is the reader? That's often the hardest question for the client to answer, but it’s essential if the product – whether it’s a book, an article, web copy, or whatever – is going to be effective. James Chartrand has put [...]
Like everybody, I hate spam. It annoys me that these low-lifes get to waste my time just because I have an e-mail address. Most of it I can spot and delete without reading, but every so often, I get tricked into opening one of those messages. What tricks me? Usually a good subject line. And [...]
A common challenge for employers is communicating information to workers, especially when your operation includes multiple shifts and staffers that don’t all have designated work stations. At a recent stop at the car wash, I saw a great solution. On the way into the building to pay, customers must walk past the restrooms. I couldn’t [...]
Technology companies are probably the worst—but not the only—offenders when it comes to spouting jargon that nobody else really understands. I’m not impressed when someone spews out a rapid-paced string of verbal confusion, and I don’t have time to try to sort it out. Like most writers, I'm bombarded daily with news releases and article [...]
Here's a blog post about writing mistakes that I want to share: Author Brian Clark is targeting bloggers in his post, 5 Common Mistakes That Make You Look Dumb, but he’s on the mark with these mistakes no matter what you’re writing or who it’s for. I especially chuckled when I read his closing note [...]
Have you ever called your voice mail system and listened to the greeting from the perspective of someone calling for the first time? What sort of an impression are you giving? It's not enough to just make sure your phone gets answered when you're not available; the greeting your callers hear says more about [...]
