Have you noticed how some passages of copy seem littered with ‘that’? And how removing all the unnecessary ones instantly gives copy more flow and conversational tone? Read more
We’ve all been stuck in conversations that are one-way traffic. You listen and nod as the other person talks about themselves, unable to get a word in, until eventually you realise there’s nothing in it for you, and your mind wanders off. Unfortunately, many businesses have the same problem. Read more
“Do you have a CSR writer with a background in chemical fertilisers?” “I’m looking for an SEO expert with a working knowledge of nuclear physics.” Requests like these aren’t unusual. And you have to wonder why. Read more
Think of a famous speech. ‘I have a dream…’, ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few…’, ‘It’s not what your country can do for you…’ or ‘You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning.’ Or recall someone less famous, who you saw... Read more
George Orwell wrote: “Most educated people don’t realise how little impression abstract words make on the average man.” We agree. So it’s always been a mystery to us why businesses seem to want to pepper their communications with them. Read more
Oh yes it is. And before you go looking for evidence to suggest otherwise – there isn’t any. Using these words to start sentences is a natural and important part of good written communication. So we often wonder why, occasionally, people question it. Read more
One of the golden rules for any kind of writing is asking yourself whether what you want to say is what anyone really wants to hear. A good copywriter has to ask this question continuously of his or her own writing – and of what clients all too often seem determined to bore their audiences... Read more
We often receive ‘tone of voice’ or editorial guidelines to follow when writing for large organisations. Generally they don’t tell us anything new or different about writing. But at least they afford us a defence for writing clearly and concisely, and for removing the worst cases of jargon. Read more
How daydreaming can help the creative process… It often pays to get your head away from the page, particularly when it comes to conceptual work, or ideas jobs like brand naming, straplines and taglines. You might not have the privilege of a rolling landscape or an eclectic metropolitan pastiche outside your window, but simply sitting... Read more
