Good news to share? Spell it out
My car insurance renewal arrived this week, and in (ahem) an “unprecedented” situation, it was good news for me – it’s less than it was last year. Of course, it should be. The Ontario government has pressured major insurance companies to lower auto rates...
13 simple ways to avoid saying ‘ramps up’
Are you getting a little tired of all this ramping up that’s been going on since the start of the pandemic? Testing, in particular, is always being ramped up, or there are calls for it to be ramped up. You might say the use of ramping up is itself ramping up. (Sorry.)...
Black boxes are easy. Taking action is hard
This week, black boxes like the one here flooded social media. It began when music-industry veterans Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang asked the industry to “pause” work on June 2 in solidarity with the Black community, and to protest the killing of George Floyd,...
Wordnerdery: 9+ tips to fight imposter syndrome
If a pandemic isn’t the time for internal communication professionals to stand up and shine, when will it be? So asked participants – five respected communication professionals – in a recent Staffbase-sponsored webinar about imposter syndrome. Is imposter syndrome...
What’s a business to do during a pandemic? A good deed
Businesses are struggling with advertising during the pandemic. It’s a tough balance, to show that they’re still around, still looking for business; yet they are sensitive to the situation. The result has been a lot of vague “We’re here for you” statements and...
Reach for analogies when you need to inspire action
Simple, powerful, vivid words and analogies. They’re critical if you want people to understand you; even more important if you want to inspire action. Notice what’s happening with the COVID-19 pandemic. Health experts are using simple words to encourage understanding...
Side effect of the pandemic: Trademark erosion
Here’s my small wordnerdy nitpick in the interests of accuracy: All those workplaces installing barriers to protect employees and customers during the pandemic are not necessarily using “Plexiglas.” That’s a brand name, like Kleenex. The generic term is “acrylic” or...
Wordnerdery: How to make numbers make sense
We’re all seeing one particular number everywhere these days – two metres (six feet). That’s how far we have to stay away from others to slow down the spread of COVID-19. But how far is that, really? Everyone citing this number quickly realized people need a better...