- Write to the Top enriches communities
- Did you know? E-mail can exacerbate poor communication habits.
- What’s new at Better Communications (BC)—send a free Guide to a friend and use the Document LifeLine
- Proofreading tips from Write to the Top
- Grammar goofs and word gaffes
Client uses Write to the Top to enrich community
The holidays are a time when our thoughts commonly turn to those members of our community who are in need and to the organizations that help support them. One of our clients has found a special way to support its non-profit neighbors. Whenever Nationwide runs workshops like Write to the Top at their headquarters in Columbus, OH, they reserve a few seats for professionals from area non-profit organizations.
Through Write to the Top processes and tools, non-profit organizations sharpen their communications to broadcast their messages more clearly. Nationwide Training and Development’s Nancy Jolley says, “The community is our customer.” By giving the non-profits the opportunity to strengthen themselves, Nationwide is helping to strengthen its community. That’s the best gift we’ve encountered all season.
Did you know…
E-mail can exacerbate poor communication habits? Better Communications’ friend Dr. John McBride, managing director of Nicholson McBride,
a leading transatlantic team of business consultants, business psychologists, and leadership coaches, says, “Sometimes people can write and send e-mails like drivers at their worst behavior.” Among the problems he notices
- unplanned, long-winded messages (like drivers who don’t know where they’re going)
- meanness (think of drivers who harass others, or who are constant horn-honkers)
- meandering messages that jump among thoughts and topics (similar to drivers who weave recklessly between lanes).
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The bottom line? Just because you can fire off an e-mail quickly doesn’t mean you should. Plan your messages before hitting the send button. Don’t drive people away—or crazy—with your e-mails!
What’s new at BC
Send a free Guide to a friend
Do you have associates who would benefit from knowing about our work? Refer us to them and we'll send them a copy of our newest book, the Instant-Answer Guide to Business Writing. Word of mouth has always been an important way of getting the Better Communications message out—we're grateful to our clients and friends for their generosity in recommending us to others.
Document LifeLine—document help when your people need it most
You’ve already invested in a Write to the Top workshop because you want your people to write clear, concise, powerful documents. But what happens months down the road when they’re writing a critical document? Studies show that even a small amount of follow-up can have a huge effect on daily habits. Document LifeLine provides your learners with a year of remote assistance from BC’s experienced, professional editors—when they need it most. Contact a BC team member to learn more about this strategic resource.
Proofreading tips from Write to the Top
It’s embarrassing (not to mention potentially dangerous) to have the documents you’ve so carefully crafted torpedoed by careless mistakes. Here’s a helpful checklist from our
Reader-Centered Business Writing® program to guide you when proofreading your work.
- Review the document with an eye for FORMAT—design the document and sequence information for easy reading—and STYLE—match your tone, language, and sentence structure to your specific audience.
- Check spelling of NAMES (including middle initials & titles).
- Pay particular attention to NUMBERS.
- Keep an eye out for misused or misspelled HOMONYMS and HOMOPHONES.
- Look for REPETITIVE words.
- Check DAYS OF THE WEEK and DATES against a calendar.
- Check for OMISSIONS.
- Check your SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, and GRAMMAR.
- Read the PRINTED PAGE in addition to the screen.
- Read from BOTTOM TO TOP or from RIGHT TO LEFT.
- GET SOME DISTANCE; then re-read the document.
- Read the document ALOUD to see how it sounds.
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Additional proofreading precautions
It’s always a good idea to use your spelling and grammar checkers (if you have them). Remember, though, that this won’t catch all mistakes—it’s no substitute for proofreading. Whenever possible, get a colleague to help proofread. Their fresh eyes will see slip-ups that you may miss.
Quotes
of Note
“Most writers write the book they want to write. You’re much wiser if you write the book people want to read.”
—Spencer Johnson, M.D., author of Who Moved My Cheese? and co-author of The One Minute Manager
“If a man would learn to read his own manuscript severely—becoming really a third person, [and] search only for what interested him, he would blot to purpose—[and] how every page would gain! Then all the words will be sprightly, [and] every sentence a surprise.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882), author
Grammar goofs and word gaffes
The colon: a usage guide
Confused by the proper uses of the colon (:)? Here are some helpful excerpts from the Instant-Answer Guide to Business Writing.
Use a colon to introduce lists, either within a sentence or in vertical format. In vertical lists, end the last item with a period.
| Examples: |
There are five support staff members in the office today: Jason, Nicole, Dave, Sara, and Jeff.
We should invest in these new phones for several reasons:
- better sound quality
- the ability to conference multiple callers simultaneously
- more voicemail storage capacity
- simplicity of use.
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Do not use a colon between a verb or preposition and its object.
| Examples: |
The firms at the conference were CapTech, Networkers, and CompSoft. (Were is a verb, and the companies listed are its objects.)
These new responsibilities will be divided among Kayla, Jane, Arnold, and Manuel. (Among is a preposition, and the people are its objects.)
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Do
not use a colon to introduce vertical lists when
- the last word introducing the list is a verb
- the last word introducing the list is a preposition
- the list items finish the sentence (as happens in this list).
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For a more detailed look at proper colon usage, check out pages 50–53 of the Instant-Answer Guide.
Versus vs. v.
Vs. and v. are both acceptable abbreviations of the word versus; however, it’s best to spell out the word in normal usage. In headlines, use vs., while v. should be used in legal contexts (for instance, in the names of court cases).
Is there a grammar issue that constantly gives you trouble? E-mail info@bettercom.com and we could explain it in a future e-newsletter!
Until next time, keep writing!
Help us help you…what issues or challenges would you like to see covered in our newsletters? Tell us!
For more information on our in-house workshops, Open Seminars, or products and services, e-mail info@bettercom.com or visit our Web site: www.writetothetop.com.
