A social worker walks into a patient’s hospital room and says to the patient’s wife, “You have to move him tomorrow to an L.T.A.C.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the wife responds. “What’s an L.T.A.C?”
This exchange appeared in a recent New York Times article about health literacy—the... (Read More)
Today’s edition of Say It Better Say It Right comes from a pharmaceutical executive describing conversations with payers and plans about what patients will pay for a new lung cancer treatment.
Writing is hard, even for people like me who make a living doing it, so sometimes it helps to have a writing partner. I’m not talking about an editor who reviews your final drafts for focus and clarity or a proofreader who checks for typos. I’m referring to someone you... (Read More)
This installment of Say It Better Say It Right comes from a corporate press release that announced a new CFO and included highlights of her track record.
Which of the following sentences features a word that’s being used incorrectly?
If you chose the... (Read More)
“In the past, chief executives might have waxed about paradigm shifts and bleeding-edge technology, but ‘journey’ has lately been the go-to word in corporatespeak.”
That line appeared in a recent Wall Street Journal article poking fun at the overuse of journey, which, according to the report, has appeared in the... (Read More)
The holidays are upon us and with them lots of opportunities to wish people well. Putting those wishes to paper correctly, however, can be tricky. Is it, for example, Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year or Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year?
Read these guidelines... (Read More)
This installment of “Say It Better Say It Right” comes from an ad campaign for UBS.
I’ve written many bulletins about dashes—America’s favorite punctuation mark—but today’s edition focuses on the overlap between a pair of dashes (like the ones I just used), commas, and parentheses. All three punctuation marks can be used to give readers extra information.
Let’s take that opening sentence. I could replace the... (Read More)
“Communication doesn’t take place because you tell somebody something. It takes place when you observe them closely and track their ability to follow you.”
Alan Alda wrote that in his charming book If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science... (Read More)
