by Sue Horner | Aug 21, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
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...
by Sue Horner | Aug 5, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
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...
by Sue Horner | Jun 25, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
You’ve created a terrific article, blog post, marketing email or other sparkly bit of content. Now, how do you entice people to read it? Start with an appealing headline. But wait, please don’t reach for a “clickbait” headline. You know, the ones that use...
by Sue Horner | May 7, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
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...
by Sue Horner | Mar 4, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Happy National Grammar Day, fellow word nerds! The big day goes back to 2008, and its founding by Martha Brockenbrough and the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar. SPOGG is “for people appalled by bad grammar in public spaces.” Yup, that’s me. (Note,...
by Sue Horner | Nov 7, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Some days I flex my writing muscles. Other days, red pen in hand, I’m trimming and toning flabby writing. By that I mean reviewing a document for typos, jargon, wayward punctuation, grammar errors, the passive voice and other writing that stops readers in their...
by Sue Horner | Oct 24, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
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...
by Sue Horner | Sep 12, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
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...
by Sue Horner | Sep 5, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
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,...
by Sue Horner | Aug 1, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Smart communicators use multiple channels to reach employees, and email remains a constant for most workplaces. But dealing with the “excessive volume” of communications is a challenge for companies around the world, according to State of the Sector 2019 –...
