Better bullet points
Have you heard about parallel construction and bullet points? It’s not as hard as it sounds. First, you just need to pick the bullet points that don’t match.
Good guides vs bad guides: tips for writing guidelines
How frustrating is it trying to follow poorly written guides? Sort of like trying to understand the illustrations that come with flat pack furniture. So how can you avoid ‘flat pack syndrome’? Here are some suggestions for writing clear, useful guides, instructions or explanations that are easier for people to understand and follow.
The power of podcasting
Last century, the power of audio had people crowding around the radio in their lounge room to hear the news or the latest episode of their favourite serial. Fast forward and today we’re selecting from a smorgasbord of audio content, which we can listen to virtually anywhere, anytime. This phenomenon is seeing podcasts pop up on just about any subject you can imagine. Here’s why these highly portable on-demand audio programs have become so popular and why they are such a powerful way to communicate.
To emoji or not to emoji?
It’s no laughing matter. There are more than 700 of them. They regularly pop up in emails, text messages, tweets and websites. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop famously conducted an entire interview in emoji. A British company has created a new type of passcode that uses emoji instead of a four-digit PIN for online banking. And Penguin Random House has launched the OMG Shakespeare series. But is emoji really a language?
Effective emails: common culprits and cures
How many of the emails that land in your inbox are clear, relevant, useful and easy to translate into actions? Thought so. Here are 10 common email culprits (are you an Agatha, a Quick-draw or a Scorpion?) plus some tips on how to improve your email persona.
Lose the lazy verbs
Are your verbs pulling their weight? Or are they letting your writing down? It’s easy to fall into the lazy verb habit. How many times have you ‘addressed’ an issue, ‘actioned’ an item or ‘improved’ something? Yawning yet? Rather than sending your readers to sleep with dreary verbs, grab their attention with get-up-and-go verbs.