The ‘cadence’ of jargon is stepping up
After running into countless uses of the word “cadence” over the past few months, I’m hopping on my Grouch Train. As happened with the word “resonate,” overuse has turned a respectable word into one that screams jargon. Here’s a look at cadence and some of the other...
Really? ‘Man-hours’? The hunt for inclusive language continues
Here’s the TL;DNR (too long; did not read) for this post: The term man-hours is outdated and politically incorrect. This week, more than 4.47 billion people wanted to know the meaning of “man-hours.” Google Trends shows fairly regular search traffic...
Before & after: Office 365 gets a name change
Remember the old days, when you used to buy software and run it until it would randomly crash and other things started to go wrong? Then you’d upgrade, spend hours getting things working again, and then run it until the danger zone again because it was such a hassle?...
Reel in reader attention with captions that captivate
Your readers might just skim your text (sorry!), but chances are they’ll look more closely at the headline, photo and caption. Ideally, those three elements together should tell most of the story, in case the reader bypasses the rest of the article altogether. Photos...
Boring topic? Here are 3 tips to spin your ‘straw’ into gold
So, you need to write about something important. The problem is, it’s boring or routine. You know the topics. They’re necessary, but they aren’t the sexiest. Safety reminders, maybe, or a potentially dry explanation of a (zzzz….) process...
Like a pair of ‘90-pound chicken nuggets’ and more expressive writing
Do you want to explain something, make a point or maybe just spark a laugh? Give readers and listeners a shortcut to understanding by reaching for similes, which use “like” or “as” to show how two things are alike. (Metaphors do the same thing...
34 ways to kick ‘unprecedented’ to the curb (Wordnerdery)
No doubt you’ve lost count of the number of times the word “unprecedented” has come your way in the past few months. It’s a go-to word for newspaper headlines, concerned emails and earnest messages from CEOs, marketers and politicians. Google Trends shows little...
What’s the best length for my e-newsletter?
Thanks to the pandemic, we’re not getting together in person much anymore. So what’s a marketer to do? Writer, digital marketer and huge newsletter fan Ann Handley calls this “a time to build relationships, nurture customers, and create long-term loyalty.” In her...