Choose your words wisely to be understood
I’m on Plain Language duty. While my client overhauls structure and cuts duplication on the website, I’m trying to make the content more readable. The existing words are often off the readable charts – post-graduate, say, or grade 13 – whereas my client hopes for...
Wordnerdery: CEO support fosters great internal comms
You need to bulldoze, guilt, beg and pressure your company’s management (“leadership”) into doing their part for internal communication (IC). That was a key message from a recent Ragan Communications webinar on “What makes communications great.” The webinar talked...
Why Coming Out Day matters
October 11 is National Coming Out Day — meant to be a reminder of the power of coming out as gay or lesbian.* The day marks the anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1988. Why is coming out so powerful? Simple. It’s easy...
It’s no Dad joke: M-W adds 530+ new words
As Merriam-Webster likes to say, the English language never sleeps, and neither does the dictionary. Whether we like it or not – and many do get upset about certain changes – modern dictionaries constantly reflect the state of our word nation. We have no one but...
Wordnerdery: Part 4 of the inside view of employee comms
Having been on the outside of internal/employee communication for many years, I’m on a quest to find the current “inside” view. The September issue of my newsletter, Wordnerdery, continues a series where I report the results. My thanks to Sheri Morgan, ABC, for...
Sadly, communicators aren’t immune to jargon
Last week, IABC members received a short email from the chair of its International Executive Board with the subject line “IABC Leadership Changes.” Within the email are two classic bits of corporate speak: Two people “are no longer with the...
Timeless writing advice from Don Ranly
Writers are always eager to learn from the masters. We’re told to read widely, and model our writing on the work of those we admire. Years ago, I was lucky enough to meet the famous (in communications circles) Don Ranly, Ph.D., IABC Fellow and professor emeritus of...
8 lessons for writers from Dancing With the Stars
September marks the launch of the latest season of my guilty pleasure, Dancing with the Stars. You might think the show is mostly about the women’s scanty costumes, or possibly B-list celebrities getting some visibility. But the real point is to take non-dancers,...