With the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) now emerging in more and more countries worldwide, many organisations, including Amazon, Apple and Google, are restricting employee travel. Extra care choosing the right words in policies, emails, board papers, staff notices and other internal and external communications will help prevent stigmatisation. It could also potentially help contain the spread of the virus in your workplace.
We Australians are renowned for being laid back. We're also very attached to the concept of a fair go. Although American culture and language is becoming ever more dominant in Australia, every now and then you do still hear these beauties (or ‘bewdies’ as we would say in the land down under).
Underlining is still sometimes used in headings or to emphasise words in workplace communications. Doing so could make you, or your organisation, look like a dinosaur. Find out why.
When we have a lot to say about a subject, we may find it relatively straightforward to write down our thoughts. We know what's important to us and we know what we want to tell our reader. The danger is, we may end up with a lot of words on the page that fail to communicate anything to our reader or bring about meaningful change. A subtle shift in the way you write can change this perspective and give you a competitive edge.
If you’re pushed for time or you want to give your report or flyer a professional polish, contracting a professional writer or editor is a wise investment. Qualifications, experience and expertise fluctuates wildly between writers and editors, so it’s important to take the time to get the right match. Find out how to avoid some of the pitfalls of hiring a professional writer or editor.
English grammar is not renowned for being logical. No sooner do we think we understand a grammatical rule and we find an exception. If we write ‘quick, quicker, quickest’ to show the comparative speeds between competitors, why don’t we write ‘worse, worser, worst’, or ‘bad, badder, baddest’ for that matter?
Around 1,000 words are added to the English language every year. Each December, the Australian public votes on their favourite word. Find out Macquarie Dictionary's winning People's Choice words for the last decade.
In times of crisis, or when trying to convey a sensitive message, it can be difficult to find the right words. Dictionaries help us by providing definitions, but these definitions don’t always convey the emotions or deeper meaning behind a word. Can we be sure our readers will infer the meaning we intended?
It’s tempting to fill a page with a lot of words. We want our work to look impressive and prove that we have indeed laboured hard. We may even hope all these words will make us look smarter, more knowledgeable. Yet it’s the few powerful phrases that become etched in our memories, not the long-winded diatribes. So when renowned actor Cate Blanchett said recently ‘When one country faces a climate disaster, we all face a climate disaster’ she encapsulated in a few words a thousand truths.
Despite the global trend towards plain English workplace communications, there is a common misconception that plain English is a process of ‘dumbing down’ that is violating the English language. Word choice is a critical component of plain English. But it’s not simply a case of replacing of long word with a short one – it’s so much more than that.
In times of crisis, we naturally seek comfort from others. When someone is ill, anxious or sad, we instinctively want to be near them, to squeeze their hand, give them a hug or have a chat over a cuppa. Yet as we don our masks and keep a physical distance to stop the spread of COVID-19, we have to find other ways to show we care. Words become increasingly important.
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