Reading time: About 1.5 minutes Have you ever thought of hiring a professional proofreader? Here’s why you should take the idea seriously…. I work with many clients who — in addition to having me write or edit — also hire me to coordinate their various suppliers. These might include graphic artists, printers, WordPress experts, filmmakers […]
Why you need professional proofreader Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes Do you ever get tense over tenses? I’m talking about verb tenses— and the the time or state they express. But, honestly, there’s no need to get upset… Most of us know that there are present, past and future tenses and we can identify them pretty easily. Fewer people know
Do verbs make you tense? Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute Signage writing is a demanding art. Yet is looks so easy that few small companies take it seriously enough. They make this mistake at their peril… Signs are harder to write than they appear. In addition to attending to grammar and spelling, you also need to watch the unwritten messages you’re sending out.
Come in and say hello… Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes What can a labour dispute teach you about communications? Quite a lot if you look at the current BC teachers’ strike as an example. A series of rotating strikes by teachers and a partial lockout by the employer (the provincial government) is crippling the school system in BC right now. It’s
How communications affects strikes Read More »
Are your communications strategies so antique they belong in the Edwardian England of Downtown Abbey? Remember: you need to adapt with the times… I recently had lunch with a colleague — a senior vice-president — and heard her confession that she had just “unlocked” the privacy settings on her business-related Twitter account. “My communications people
Don’t “Downton Abbey” your communications Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes Every hit isn’t a home run. And not all media interviews go smoothly. Here’s how to take your lemons and turn them into lemonade… Have you ever bombed on a media interview? If you’re being honest, the answer is almost certainly yes. No one is perfect and interviews are stressful.
How to learn from your (bad) media interviews Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes If you think your yearly publication is going to be able to change anyone’s mind, think again! Here’s why your readers need more touches… Clients sometimes ask me to produce yearly or quarterly publications for them. Unless they’re asking for an annual report (or a mini-report tied to the release
Why your readers need more touches Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute How you deal with a customer service problem tells people far more about your company than you might think…. I emailed one of my suppliers recently. I had a very small print job for a client and I needed a quote. Uncharacteristically, I didn’t hear back from the supplier right
Turn that customer frown upside down Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute Has anyone ever told you that speeches need numbers? Here’s why… I volunteer to coach a debating team at my local high school. I enjoy working with kids (grade 8s and 9s) and I’m glad to help them learn the value of public speaking at a young age. Here’s
Why speeches need numbers Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes Clichés are overused expressions. And business cliches…well, they’re bad for business… Are clichés really that bad in business? Yes. And let me tell you why. Clichés are overused expressions. At one time they might have been original. But now they’re old and stale. They make reading (or listening to a speaker) boring and
7 business cliches you should avoid… Read More »
