It’s plain: You don’t need ‘stripes’ to show different ‘kinds’
Have you ever noticed that suddenly everyone seems to be using a particular word or phrase? “Upskilling” is having a moment, unfortunately. “Overarching” has staying power, also unfortunately. But the one I keep running into lately is “[people]...
Helpful tips for plain language in links you might have missed
I’m always on the lookout for examples of good and bad writing, and you’ll find plenty out in the world. Here are some of the articles recently shared online, all related to plain language and getting rid of jargon and lawyer-speak. Plain language is all about helping...
Making sense of long sentences; a ‘Before & After’ in January Wordnerdery
Have you ever started reading something, and had to stop because you lost your way in a long, meandering sentence? That’s what happened to me while reading an article in the Entertainment section of my local newspaper. The opening sentence rang in at 49 words....
AI and hallucinate top the 2023 Words of the Year
Surprise! Artificial Intelligence (AI) dominated the range of important things, events, people and preoccupations we talked about in 2023. An article about ChatGPT led Wikipedia’s most-viewed entries and Google search data also showed plenty of hunts for AI and...
Top 10 posts in the Red Jacket Diaries in 2023
Somehow, December got away from me (you too?). So I missed my annual tradition of collecting the top 10 most-viewed posts on my blog. Here they are! 1. Is this the year you get certified as a Communication Management Professional (CMP) or Strategic Communication...
Life lessons from my granddaughter (in December Wordnerdery)
You may have noticed I have somewhat of a yearly tradition for the December issue of my newsletter, Wordnerdery. Rather than talk about words, expressive writing and so on, I usually share my thoughts about something more personal. The tradition continues! The...
From writing support to virtual collabs, freelancers are using cool tools
Amid the shiny new digital tools discussed at a recent session with IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent Communicators (PIC) was an old standby: The Canadian Press Caps and Spelling book. I use it often for its Plain Words section, and I wasn’t the only word nerd...
The poetic power of music (in November Wordnerdery)
Do you pause what you’re doing for a moment of silence on Remembrance Day or Veterans Day? I do, and often turn on the radio (remember radio?) so as not to get caught up in work and miss 11 a.m. One year, the radio station introduced the moment, and then went...