We can’t control when others might write these kinds of emails, but we can control whether we write them. In our email training, we advise business people to follow the “You Idiot!” Rule. If you read an email that you’ve written aloud and find that you can naturally add the words “You idiot!” to the message, do not send the email.
Many women are powerful communicators–clear, direct, and concise. Nevertheless, when training women business leaders to write, I see that they often sabotage themselves in business communication by apologizing, using indirect language, and over-informing.
Holiday greetings can build a relationship or hurt it. These tips to follow and gaffes to avoid will help you.
“Words such as rather, pretty, very, and little are the leeches that infest the body of prose, sucking the blood of words. We should all try to do a little better, we should all be very watchful of this rule, for it is a rather important one and we are pretty sure to violate it now and then.” …
As Mark Twain said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” In the hum of daily speech, people may misunderstand a phrase without realizing that they have misunderstood it. Then they prance merrily through life, saying and writing things like “in the …
More Tortured Idioms: The 800-Pound Gorilla in the Room Read More »
