Articles

I grew up in an era when women were routinely referred to as ‘the weaker sex’. We were expected to be afraid of mice but not of childbirth; we were expected to be capable of raising well-adjusted children (with no days off) but not of running a company. Words have a powerful effect on the reader and can define us positively or negatively. Although true gender equality may still be a long way off, some of the rhetoric has thankfully changed. Enter the fearless female.

There are many words in English that sound the same but are spelled differently. Two of these are 'enquiry' and 'inquiry', and 'program' and 'programme'. Is there a difference in meaning? Or does it simply come down to personal preference?

Which is correct? Single or double quotation marks? Do lists take a semicolon at the end of each bullet point? While it might seem pedantic, checking these details and consistently applying your organisation's preferred style will raise the professionalism of your writing.

You’ve checked your report a dozen times, each time finding several ‘new’ typos. They seem to come out of the woodwork. If you see a mistake that you’re sure you fixed last time, you might even begin to believe aliens are sabotaging your work. Despite best efforts, everyone makes typographical errors. So why is it so hard to spot typos in our own work?

When you write emails or reports at work, you may find it difficult to identify whether your communication is easy to read. After all, you know what you mean, so surely your reader will too. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. To get the best results from your written communications at work, make sure you use these five basic building blocks.

Fixing team members’ writing is an all too time-consuming part of many people leaders’ role. Poor written communications not only cause frustration and inefficiency, they can result in poor team engagement and job dissatisfaction. In turn, this leads to performance issues and increased staff turnover.

By the time we start our first job, we will have written billions of words. But does our primary, secondary or even tertiary education really train us for the kind of communications we need to write at work? 

When you use outdated words, you not only risk misunderstanding, but you may inadvertently create a mismatch between your written communications and your brand. These words can also alienate your reader. Find out what words are 'in' and what words are 'out' in business writing.

Do you consistently miss deadlines for reports and other written communications at work? There could be several reasons for this. You may have been given an unrealistic deadline or perhaps other more urgent jobs demanded your attention. Although there is not much you can do about these real-life scenarios, accurately estimating how much time you need, and then pacing yourself, will help you get to the finish line on time.

Are your reports clear, concise and contemporary? Or does your writing tend to get bogged down in too many words? There are many ways to make your report easier and faster to read. This simple technique will make your writing more action-oriented and more concise. Find out how.