I found myself listening to Ivanka Trump be interviewed at the 2015 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. She talked about how she organizes her time, what it’s like to be Donald Trump’s daughter, and her approach to building brands. The woman is cool, calm, and collected and has a... (Read More)
“Whenever I read something, I’m picturing it in my head like a movie,” a Disney animator remarked when asked about his reading habits. His statement hit on that thrill we all feel when we read—or hear—words that are so right they give us an image in an instant.
Do “word... (Read More)
“I will see you their.”
That message gave Jeff Cohen second thoughts about meeting his OkCupid date, according to a recent front-page article in The Wall Street Journal about the allure of good grammar. Mr. Cohen now uses an app that ranks the message quality of prospective partners.... (Read More)
“I can’t stand it when people say they’re going to reach out.”
I hear that all the time. The phrase seems to make people downright squirmy.
Reach out is tentative—maybe you’ll make the connection; maybe you won’t. I get an image of an outstretched arm that may or... (Read More)
A popular daily newsletter arrived with this bit of information about DreamWorks Studios: “It produced less films and less profits than expected.”
That didn’t sound right.
The rule of thumb is to use fewer for things you can count (the number of DreamWorks films) and less when referring to amounts... (Read More)
Humid air surging up into southern New England could help produce locally heavy rainfall and thunder. Farther west, drier air will move into the Middle Atlantic region.
So read a recent weather forecast that I paid extra attention to for its correct use of farther, which refers to physical distance.... (Read More)
“He’s a friend of mine, but he missed his time,” Donald Trump said of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. “If he would have done it four years ago, he would have beaten Romney.”
The “it” obviously refers to the presidential run the governor didn’t make in 2012, so that... (Read More)
I can gift my air miles to a friend and earn even more for myself. If I go to a certain museum gala later this month, I’ll be gifted with a light linen beach cover-up. And come February, retailers everywhere will ask me what I want to gift my Valentine.... (Read More)
Melissa Rivers was being interviewed about the book she wrote about her mother, Joan Rivers (I know Joan crops up a lot in my bulletins—it’s not intentional), who was well known for having lots of plastic surgery.
“Does that make you lean in to plastic surgery—and things like that... (Read More)
“You Really Look Smart,” read a recent Wall Street Journal headline. The article it headed described behaviors that make people look smart. Using clear language, the article said, is one such behavior. This is welcome advice for business communicators everywhere. One of the biggest traps businesspeople fall into is using big words... (Read More)
