Unique. It’s like being pregnant. You are or you’re not.
Unique means one of a kind, so a situation, challenge, service, etc., cannot be completely unique, very unique, or some other kind of unique. It’s either the only one or it’s something else.
In today’s world, it’s rare for... (Read More)
CEOs drive their business. Along the way, they drive change, decisions, and strategies. If things go well, they drive results that drive shareholder value.
Drive has become an all-purpose word that seems to mean to have a good effect on.
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)
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)
“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)
Have you ever written something like this?
Why the hype?
I’m referring to genuinely, dramatically, and—depending on how... (Read More)
