As you can imagine, when I send out my posts, I get a lot of out-of-office replies. More often than not, the messages say the recipient is currently out of the office until a future date, which doesn’t make much sense.
Would you say, “I’m out of the office at the... (Read More)
The panty will be open.
That sounds vaguely pornographic, but there it was in an email alerting me to some upcoming construction work in a building I frequent. Clearly the person who wrote it meant to say pantry instead.
Typos are one of many things you’re looking for when you... (Read More)
If I can’t picture it, I can’t understand it.
Albert Einstein, the physicist who developed the theory of relativity, said that. The Nobel prizewinner had a point. It’s easier to grasp something if you can visualize it, which is why it’s important to write in language you can see.... (Read More)
Please check-in at the front desk, read the sign in the building lobby.
I didn’t take issue with giving my name to the gentleman seated outside the elevator bank, but I did have a problem with the hyphenated rendition of check-in. The sign should have said to check in at... (Read More)
Commas have lots of uses, but there’s one in particular that confuses a lot of people, including me. I always have to look up the rule, so I hope that by writing this post, I can remember it once and for all.
I have two daughters. If I refer to... (Read More)
A well-known executive said this about the link between productivity and wellness. But people do not resonate to something; something resonates with them, which means they can relate to it because whatever it is strikes a chord. So this executive also could have said the skeptics relate to the science,... (Read More)
Driving double-digit growth, driving innovation, driving good health outcomes—these are commonplace ways the business community uses the verb drive.
If you look up drive in the dictionary, you’ll find eight definitions with usage examples as diverse as driving cattle across a prairie (to prod), driving a hard bargain (to carry... (Read More)
I’m pretty sure when I need a comma; I’m not so sure about a semicolon.
I hear that a lot.
The semicolon is easy to explain because it does two specific things (unlike the comma whose use is wide and varied and can sometimes be subjective). The first thing the... (Read More)
Did humans evolve from apes?
That’s a legitimate question and a legitimate use of the word evolve, which means to develop gradually.
Too often in business, however, companies use evolve to describe some sort of change, instead of just saying they’ve improved or updated whatever it is they’re changing.
Our stores offer curbside pickup, bringing even more convenience to your visit, read the email from a favorite retailer.
Is convenience something you bring? And how exactly would you bring it to a visit?
I had a similar thought when Facebook said they’re bringing more transparency to their political ads.... (Read More)
