Shocking stats on International Literacy Day
My sons were big readers growing up, and their teachers often commented that they could tell. Something about the vocabulary and the spelling, even though the boys didn’t actively try to learn new words. When parents read to and with their children, it just happens....
Stop using this phrase like a boss
Not to be like the old guy on the porch yelling, “You kids get off my lawn!” or anything, but here’s another phrase that’s starting to annoy me: “Like a boss.” (I last vented about “hacking your life.”) The Telegraph...
Avoid offending with these 7 tips for inclusive language
We’re horrified about it now, but at one time people would say “deaf and dumb” when they meant someone who could not hear or speak. Language evolves, and we’ve come a long way. What was once said without thinking we now recognize as offensive. And just as we need to...PWAC chat summary: All about fees
Consultants and freelancers are always interested in talking about fees. (Are we charging enough? Too much? What’s the going rate?) And so it was a group of us recently took part in a Twitter chat hosted by PWAC, the Professional Writers Association of Canada....
5 lessons in customer service from Ste. Anne’s Spa
My sister-in-law introduced me to the dangerous “robed cult of relaxation” at beautiful Ste. Anne’s Spa in 2012. Getting treatments like hot stone massages or facials, enjoying healthy, delicious meals, staying in comfortable beds in charming...
Birthdays: How marketers get them right, and wrong
When you were a kid, you probably loved birthdays. Cake and presents and being king or queen for the day made you feel special, didn’t they? These days, when you hand over your birth date to marketers, they have a chance to make you feel special, too. Of course,...
Baby steps with Instagram
In the early days of Twitter, doubters complained that it was just a place where people shared what they ate for lunch. Instagram, too, has that kind of reputation. But businesses are looking more closely at this photo-/video-sharing app as a way to build brand...
My 7 steps to ‘spin straw into gold’
You may have heard me talk about “spinning straw into gold.” That’s my shorthand for turning reams of raw interview notes into a concise, readable story. Often it also means boiling 1,500 words down to 500. (“Pulling a rabbit out of a hat” is doing so to meet a tight...