Let’s face it: No one likes to have work corrected. We dream that people will say, “It’s brilliant! It’s perfect! Let’s run with it.” But that doesn’t always happen. In fact, it is much more common to be corrected than to be unconditionally praised. This is part of the writing process. Remember the adage, “Writing […]
Learning to Overcome Pride of Authorship Read More »
When I teach “Email Best Practices,” the first principle does not refer to directly to email. Rather, it suggests that people determine whether email is the best medium for their message. In many cases, the phone is a better option. Email is quick and easy to use and, even better for many people, it does
How to Avoid Death by Email Read More »
“Act in haste; repent at leisure” is the operative proverb for email today. How often have you sent an email flying off into cyberspace, only to realize too late that it: Was going to the wrong person Conveyed a negative or angry tone that would damage your relationship with the reader Contained spelling or punctuation
How to Avoid Email Disasters? Read More »
Sometimes it’s easier to learn by looking at examples of jobs well done. Here are a few sentences that illustrate a principle we teach in the Worktalk writing trainings: Create visual images. Abstractions do not move people the way images do. The more you can engage your reader’s senses — sight, sound, smell, taste and
Learning from Good Writing: Using Visual Images Read More »
What else can you do to irk the readers of your emails? Here are a few more examples from our nationwide survey. Not Providing a Context People who respond to a question that was asked in an e-mail without including the original email, so their response is out of context and forces you to look
