“With every trip we work hard to earn your business and, most importantly, your satisfaction.”
So wrote United to its frequent flyers. Had the carrier written and, most important (not most importantly), my satisfaction would have soared. Flight delays, lost luggage, less leg room—why sweat the small stuff?
Most important is short for what is... (Read More)
A three-time broker of the year announced a high-priced real estate sale to prospective clients. “This time I resented the owners,” she wrote.
A first-rate publication described a former first daughter as raising her pubic persona.
These mortifying moments could have been averted through proper proofreading, the final step in good writing.
Two weeks... (Read More)
Avocados are good fats. But if you eat a lot of them, you won’t lose weight.
The same thing happens to your writing when you overuse the word that. A little of that is fine—and in some roles (that has many) it’s essential—but too much that and your copy gets fat.
Consider this sentence:
Editors say that the... (Read More)
In response to my bulletin on home in and hone in, a former agency colleague wrote, “This one bugs me almost as much as flesh out/flush out.”
If you’re in the business of turning ideas into full-fledged campaigns, you may have wondered which word to use. Maybe you’ve even mashed... (Read More)
A networking organization writes to tell its members how seriously it takes their privacy. We only share data when we’re legally required to do so. My newspaper tells me I’m about to receive extra crossword puzzles that could only come from the paper’s master crosswords editor.
What’s off?
The authors are relying on the... (Read More)
It happens to us all. We sit down to write but struggle to get out clear consecutive sentences. Or we hammer out a draft and somebody says, “I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”
This happens because we’ve given short shrift to the thinking that has to come... (Read More)
Two of the four sentences below are correct. Which are they?
a) Searchers homed in on new target areas.
b) She creates Tweets that hone in on a specific point.
c) The company homed in on the California prospect for its promising experimental drug.
d) I remember... (Read More)
Ashley Callahan, Coca-Cola’s manager for digital communications and social media, asks that question. If the answer is yes, the content in question is one step closer to getting posted.
Surprise catches your attention, which makes it a good device to slip into all types of business content.
... (Read More)“The One that Started it All”
So starts the dessert menu at a popular restaurant. What’s with the capitalization? Why are that and it down and the other words up?
You may not be writing headlines for signature sweets, but you are for presentations, websites, press releases, and invitations. Copy that randomly switches between uppercase and lowercase... (Read More)
“I want to thank you for being so engaged and thoughtful around the direction of the company.”
So wrote a well-known CEO in a well-publicized letter to her employees.
Why the preposition around, which makes it sound as if the employees weighed in on something hovering about, but not quite connected... (Read More)
