If you look up engaged in the dictionary, you’ll find nearly 20 definitions for a word many people just associate with getting married. Today we have engaged employees, engaged customers and for those in the healthcare industry, engaged patients and engaged providers. While engagement in the business sense is legitimate,... (Read More)
I was scrolling through Instagram and came across a post from Kamala Harris’s office that started On behalf of the second gentleman and I, we would like to wish you… .
Ouch.
I had that same reaction when I opened a letter whose first line was On behalf of myself... (Read More)
The sign at the United Airlines’ ticket counter in Mexico City read, The United States is denying entry for non-U.S. citizens who have visited various countries within the last 14 days, unless you are a lawful permanent resident.
Can you detect the problem?
It’s in the latter half of the... (Read More)
Astute readers caught a mistake in last week’s post—since corrected.
The short dash—the one that goes between numbers to indicate a range (and that’s pretty much it)—is called the en dash; the long one—I’m using them in this sentence to bracket extra information—is the em dash. It makes sense: n... (Read More)
The other day I walked past a construction site where a pair of posh buildings is going up. The sign on the chain link fence said, “Luxury Residences From $2M – $5M.”
The multi-million-dollar price tag didn’t give me pause (only because I’m not buying) but the word from did.... (Read More)
I was recently at an art opening where the artist talked about her work. “If you look at it,” she said, “and you feel a sense of calm, I’ve accomplished what I wanted.”
That, I thought, is one great example of how to put your audience first. She didn’t say,... (Read More)
“I’m anxious for the new year to start,” said a CEO in a year-end message to employees. But he didn’t mean he was worried or uneasy, which is precisely what anxious means. Rather, he was talking enthusiastically and optimistically about the prospects for growth in the year ahead.
He meant... (Read More)
I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving and for those who celebrate, I’m wishing you a happy Hanukkah.
Should I have capitalized the word happy in both instances?
No, happy (lowercase h) is correct because it’s part of a sentence. Had I made Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah standalone... (Read More)
I recently walked through a school district where I came across a street sign asking me to kindly turn off my phone.
Kindly turn off my phone? Does that mean I should refrain from beating it with a stick?
People may think kindly is extra polite—but it’s not. It makes... (Read More)
A disgruntled real estate agent in Australia is in big trouble. His former employer is suing him for defamation over a Facebook post. Here’s what he wrote:
Oh Stuart Gan!! Selling multi million $ homes in Pearl Beach but can’t pay his employees superannuation. Shame on you Stuart!!! 2 yrs... (Read More)
