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Communications tipsHere’s the free stuff. You’ll find more in the Trafcom News blog and the Trafcom News Podcast. Bewitched and confused by that and which Bewitched and confused by that and whichWhen I lead my writing workshops, attendees are guaranteed to ask: “When do we use that, and when do we use which?” One of the reasons we’re confused over these two little words is that we so often see them used incorrectly. Some people think which sounds more sophisticated than that, so they insert it into their writing whenever they can, which is wrong! Here’s a simple way to figure it out:
Examples: Break some rules from fourth gradeI hope Sister Grace Agnes and the other nuns who taught me English grammar aren’t reading this, because I’m going to give some advice that would not make the good sisters very happy. Here it is: It’s OK to break some of the writing rules you learned in elementary school. For example, we were taught that it’s verboten to begin a sentence with and, but or because. Why did they tell us this? Because kids don’t know how to do it correctly, so they wind up with badly fractured prose. But if you’re a grown-up writing a marketing brochure, it’s perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with and. Or because. Because these words can put punch in your copy. But remember this: you have to know the rules before you can break them. Color or colour: What’s your style?I’ve been thinking about style this week because I’m working on copy for a European audience, written in U.K. English. Sometimes I feel I should be munching on fish and chips as I write such words as analyse and organise. I consider myself fortunate when it comes to switching from one English style to another because I grew up in New York City and have lived in the Toronto area for the last 20-odd years. I can easily don my Canadian persona and write honour and colour. When U.S. clients hire me, it’s honor and color all the way. Still, style comprises more than spelling. That’s why professional writers often rely on style guides to help them choose the proper spelling and usage. For instance, which is correct: worldwide, world-wide, or world wide? Well, they are all “right,” depending on whether you’re following the style of Associated Press (AP), CP (Canadian Press), the Globe and Mail, the New York Times, or some other authority. In my writing workshops, participants take one look at my stack of style guides and groan, “But which one should we use?” I answer that it depends on your audience. Let’s face it: U.S. readers often look askance at British or Canadian spelling. If your readers are all Canadian or Scottish or Australian, you can safely use local style. In addition to a purchased style guide, you may need to develop a “house style” for those situations not covered in a guide, or where your organization differs from the guide’s rules and regulations. For example, do you capitalize job titles or names of departments within the company? Do you use employees’ formal names (Margaret A. Jones), or can you use nicknames (Maggie)? Do you italicize product names? Do you always include trademark information? The main point is to choose one style and stay with it so your readers are comfortable with your content. Don’t be so quick to edit yourselfAs you tap out words and see your article or story begin to take shape, it’s tempting to stop after every few sentences to go back and review what you’ve written. Don’t! You’ll probably interrupt your thought process. In fact, proofreading or running your spell-checker in the middle of your document is a well-recognized time waster. And many writers are prodigious time wasters! Let’s face it, it’s much easier to rest and check for typos (or clean out the lint trap in the dryer, or brew yet another cup of tea) than to forge ahead, thinking and creating new copy. So, here’s a tip: If you want to take a break and stretch, by all means, go back and edit yourself. If you want to keep on writing, then just stick with it. Don’t fall in love with your copyThe best writing comes from re-writing, but you can’t do a good job of re-writing if you allow yourself to fall in love with your own words. Have you ever avoided cutting a sentence or a phrase because you thought it was so original or so cute? Even professional writers sometimes feel a pang of sorrow when they discover that the words they love are actually flabby phrases, unproductive sentences or redundant paragraphs. Remember this: you’ll be a better writer if you learn to edit yourself without mercy. Everyone needs an editorOr at least a proofreader. A fat envelope in today’s mail contained a sheaf of pages requesting my “immediate” attention. Apparently one of my clients wants me to fill out a “Material Declaration Data Sheet.” They seem to think I am handling dangerous goods. Admittedly, words can be pointed, but I don’t think I’ve ever made anyone bleed. As I peruse the form, I see cadmium, mercury and polybrominated biphyenyls listed. Nothing about my stock in trade – commas, semicolons, dashes and dependent and independent clauses. More seriously, the form says I should contact “XXXXX at XXXXX@myclient’s name.com” if I have any questions. The XXXXXs actually appear on the form, which means that no one checked it before it was mailed to probably hundreds of suppliers like me. My free advice to the client was: Have someone check every letter sent out on the corporate letterhead. Hey, on second glance, the person in charge of mailing this thing didn’t even use corporate letterhead. In this case, maybe that’s a good thing. Freelance Magazine Writing 101My work today is overwhelmingly corporate, but in the past I used to reserve a slice of time for magazine writing. When colleagues learn that I used to freelance for magazines, they invariably ask, “How do I break into magazines?” I could write a book to answer that question (indeed, others have), but here’s the short reply. 1. Read magazines. This is a simplified list, but perhaps it’s enough to help you decide whether you’re ready to make the leap into magazines. Go low-fatYes, I know, you’re tired of being told to eat low-fat foods. You don’t want to hear about pulling the skin off your chicken, trimming your pork chops, and avoiding the butter dish. Well, now some writer is going to tell you about cutting the fat from your prose. As Strunk and White advise in their classic text, The Elements of Style, we must omit needless words! Look at your writing and ask, “Is this sentence pulling its weight? Do I need all of these words?” Search for such weak phrases as “at this point in time” or “in the matter of.” Look for redundancies such as “it was green in color” or “it was warm in temperature.” Be sure each sentence has a purpose. If you practice this low-fat style of writing, your prose will get sleeker. Headlines get to the pointDo you cringe when you have to write a memo? Do people dislike reading your messages? Try this. The next time you have to compose an inter-office missive, limit yourself to one page. At the top, jot down a concise headline, which may improve the odds that your point will get across -- even to people who refuse to read the whole page. Headlines are an excellent device in reports, proposals, brochures and articles (where sub-heads are handy, too). In case you didn’t work on your high-school newspaper, here are a few tips:
Try this technique for a month. You might find that composing the headline will force you to organize your thoughts, and, in the end, write a better memo. How to edit yourselfWriting is easy. It’s re-writing that’s hard. If you define “writing” as putting words to paper, and “re-writing” as reworking the words so they make the most sense, then good writing is good re-writing. Sometimes people ask me how long it takes to write an article. That’s difficult to answer. Researching a short magazine article may eat up 12 hours. Banging out the first draft might take one or two hours. After that, who knows? I might re-write the thing four times, spending many hours shuffling text around, deleting some paragraphs and expanding others. Even if you’re not a professional writer, if you are responsible for producing any written materials, it’s worth polishing your editing skills. Try these simple steps: 1. Review your reason for writing in the first place, then answer this question: Have I met my goal and will the reader be satisfied? If not, re-write! When in doubt about spelling or grammar, look it up! Every writer needs a good dictionary and style book. How to write email that people READHow many times have you received a long, rambling email message, ALL IN CAPS, with a blank subject line, or labeled “FYI”? It’s enough to make you revert to pen and paper. Here are a few tips to make your e-mail shine. 1. Use a meaningful subject line. The people who wrote your email program were generous enough to give you a nice big subject area, so use it! State clearly what the message is about, such as “Meeting options for March,” or “Results of special widget sale,” or my personal favorite, “URGENT: Here’s the rush article you requested!” Keep your sentences shortDid you know that the more complicated your subject matter, the shorter your sentences should be? It’s true! When the brain is trying to assimilate new information, long sentences make the job harder. A list of short staccato sentences sounds like you’re talking down to the reader, while a host of long ones gets very dull very fast. The best tactic is to vary the length of sentences in your article or brochure. Like this. Know your audienceThe first thing I want to know when someone asks me to write or edit an article, newsletter or report is: “Who is going to read this?” It’s impossible to do a good job unless you are familiar with the intended audience. Busy people today are more likely to read something that appeals to them and has some relevance to their lives. For example, one of my clients says her company’s best-read publication is the simple little newsletter that covers the employee-benefits beat. It shouldn’t be a big surprise that people are interested in matters that directly affect their pay stub! As people read, they ask, “What’s in it for me?” So, you have to think about the information they want, and how they would like that information packaged. If you can answer these questions before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keys), your work probably won’t get pitched immediately into the circular file:
Persuasive writing demands powerful verbsMuch stronger than adjectives, adverbs or other parts of speech, verbs (action words) transform limpid writing into powerful prose. If you want your copy to move people, don’t dilute your verbs! Instead of saying “Our mission statement affirms our goals,” people write, “Our mission statement is an affirmation of our goals.” That’s what I call a poor diluted verb. The next time you’re drafting a brochure or marketing letter, look at your verbs! Quarterbacks and maple syrup: Writing with translation in mindI enjoy seeing my copy after it’s been translated into French or German or Mandarin. No, I can’t read German or Mandarin, but it’s a kick anyway. (Since I’m in Canada, which has two official languages, French is most often the language into which my newsletters and articles are translated.) I have great respect for translators who can make prose sing. I’m also aware that when people are reading my copy or the translator’s version of it, English (or French) might not be their native tongue. They could be German or Chilean, with English or French as their second language. When writing for non-native speakers, I try to be careful with such expressions as “fitting a square peg into a round hole” or with sports analogies, cultural cues or even food references (not everyone in the world puts maple syrup on pancakes). One senior executive I interviewed loved football metaphors, speaking of quarterbacks and touchdowns. I had to change his quotes (with his permission) so that his message could be understood in Madrid or Taipei, where U.S. football is not well known. It also helps to flag names for the translator, so he or she can tell if the person is male or female, since job titles might differ for the feminine or masculine gender. If you are writing for a global audience, take a step back and ask yourself, “Would I understand this passage if I were in Tokyo or Athens?” Stick to the pointIt’s so easy to get carried away when you’re writing. You’ll let your readers down, however, if you don’t stick to the point. If they are expecting an article about the company’s new insurance plan, that’s what they want to read about. If your tome is supposed to explain electronic commerce, don’t muddy the waters by introducing extraneous topics. That’s what sidebars are for! Sometimes you go off on a tangent because someone you have interviewed has led you astray, by pushing another agenda. Don’t let this happen. You don’t have to include an unrelated topic just because your source is spouting off about it. Here’s the tip: After you have gathered your notes, and before you start writing, ask yourself, “What is the aim of this piece of writing? What will my readers expect?” Pare away everything that doesn’t answer these questions. Stuck at the beginning? Start at the middle!Professional writers don’t have time for so-called writer’s block. We face too many deadlines to wait for inspiration from the muses. So, when we can’t think of the perfect words to start an article or even a letter, we might instead:
The best writing is rewritingWriters very rarely produce great copy on the first try. They will usually do extensive research, thinking and planning first, then write a first draft. Finally, they’ll edit and polish the copy. Even a pro will go through several drafts before the written piece is considered finished. Here’s what a professional writer will do:
Watch that spell chequer!A spell checker compares the words in your document with the entries in its dictionary, and calls attention to those words that aren’t in it. Some dictionaries suffer because they contain too many words, so there’s a greater chance that your typo will match an entry in the dictionary. Online thesauruses are handy, but you can fall into the same trap with them as you can with the hardcover version - choosing a word with the wrong shade of meaning, such as “mechanism” for “computer” (a suggestion by my software). In determining correct or effective usage when writing, context is everything. Yet, software tools are blind, or nearly so, to context. This blindness results in the software asking for corrections where none are needed, while gliding over gross misspellings and misuses of language. In the final analysis, you must trust your own judgment, informed by a reliable dictionary and a good style guide. If the document you’re working on is very important, try to get another pair of human eyes to look at it, as long as the owner of those eyes knows how to spell and how to discriminate between an adverb and an adjective. Remember: Don’t rely on your computer, which is still essentially a bean counter, to be your final editor. What’s your angle?For some reason, the word “angle” as in “story angle” has taken on an almost sinister connotation. That’s too bad, because the story angle is a legitimate concern of every writer. Truth be told, you can’t write a good story without an angle. Let’s elaborate. Suppose someone asks you to write 500 words about corporate security for the employee newsletter. That’s fine. Er, except.... Is it an overview of corporate security? Or is it about new security measures put in place since a hacker cracked the payroll file? Or is it about the people who work behind the scenes? Without knowing this, you can’t write the story. Or, you’ll write a flaccid, unfocused 500 words. The next time someone asks you to write something, get the subject and the angle, which is the point of writing the article at all. Why people don’t read your writingI hear a lament from clients and colleagues all the time: WHY don’t people READ? They say: “I wrote the email asking for help, but no one responded” or “I explained the new policy in writing, but employees are still following the old one!” A software developer tells me: “No one pays attention to the two-page documentation that tells them how to get started; they call for support instead!” So, why don’t people read? I’d like to point out a few reasons, which come from 25 years of business experience, not from a scientific study. (I am assuming here that basic literacy is not the issue.) 1. The message is unclear. 2. The message is too hard to read. 3. There’s nothing in the message that benefits the reader. So, why do we make these three mistakes – and more – when we write? A lack of focus on the audience’s need is often the heart of the problem. In employee communications, I constantly come back to these questions as I plan and write articles: What do the employees care about? What do they need to know about this issue? How will it affect their day-to-day work? How will this program make their company (and their jobs) more viable over the long term? In other words, what’s in it for them?
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