Why? Because if you don’t, people will ask you what you actually mean, and then you’ll have to explain yourself the way you should have done first time around. Which can be embarrassing and time-consuming. Read more
In recent years, have you ever seen the word ‘sparingly’ anywhere other than on a tube of skin cream or ointment? It’s almost become medical jargon. Read more
There’s a great running joke in 1987’s cult romantic comedy ‘The Princess Bride’. The good guy relentlessly pursues the bad guys, and every time they fail to shake him off the ringleader says it’s “inconceivable”. Eventually one of his sidekicks says, “You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think... Read more
While moving house recently (packing endless boxes of books) I came across George Orwell’s five rules of effective writing. They’re as relevant today as they were in 1946… Read more
Things will look different in the morning. Very true, on most days. I don’t know why, but sleeping seems to change your perceptions of things: when you wake up, you see them differently. Read more
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
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
