Remember “show, don’t tell?” Generations of creative writing teachers have imparted this bit of wisdom, but if you’re like many harried communications professionals, you probably haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about how it applies to the writing you do every day. In fact, “show, don’t tell” can be a surprisingly useful bit of […]
HR communications
Making It Easy
At school, my kids see a “Do Now” on the board when they walk into class. At meetings, the agenda ends with “Deliverables.” But so many communications I’ve seen leave me scratching my head: when and where is this event, what am I supposed to do to sign up for this program, how can I […]
There’s No Rule Against Interesting
I once attended a talk on the subject of employee communications by this wonderful Ragan Communications guy; I wish I could remember his name. He had us imagine a tableau I’ve carried in my head ever since: It’s lunchtime at your office. A mid-level employee takes a sandwich back to her desk and reaches for […]
Eschew Jargon
Don’t you love that word: eschew? English is rich with so many quirky, wonderful words. One of the great joys of reading great literature is savoring the writer’s word choices like a dish cooked by a master chef. (Sometimes I just stop reading to wonder at the word a writer has used. How did he/she […]
