Get to the point. Get your main message across quickly so your reader knows what you are trying to tell them. What is wrong with this sentence? In an effort to curb the movements of refugees, which followed Ankara saying last week that it would no longer stop refugees trying to enter Western Europe from Read More
Category: writing
Using the semicolon to power your writing
The semicolon is in your tool box of punctuation: use it to improve the power of your writing. It is heavier than a comma and lighter than a full stop. Here is one way to use it: As a divider in lists which are long and complex: “Three of them went on the picnic: Richard, Read More
“How you communicate… will have a huge impact on your success.”
Should we listen to a banker…? Not usually, but for once, a leading financier has echoed a truth that we all apply here at ContentETC. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon recently visited his alma mater to share advice and tips to some eager and bright young minds, and said the one skillset that’s becoming harder Read More
3 tips for a better CV
CVs are selling documents: they are selling you to an employer. And they can be so bland and boring that they soon end up in the waste-paper basket. Here’s 3 tips to make your CV stand out: 1. Make sure that at the top you have a personal statement that really says something. I call Read More
How important is spelling?
Well, perhaps you can you tell me… “Admiring the view has just taking on a whole new meaning.” This is the line taken today from the Nissan UK website, where they are extolling the virtues of their brand new X-Trail model. I already own an older version of this particular car, so was checking out Read More
Tone up your verbs for tighter writing
You can make your written and verbal communications much more effective by toning up your verbs. A large minority of my students would not be able to find the verb in a complex sentence. I can see from a lot of corporate communications that the same is true of many writers. Verbs as muscles The Read More
Big sharing shout out for 2014?
As we prepare to celebrate the demise of 2013, and more importantly the birth of a whole New Year, I find myself pondering some of the megatrends that will affect us all… High on this list is of course our exploding online social media networks, and the ubiquitous connectivity they have brought. One famous telco’s Read More
Topping story from @lexitopping on Glasgow pub deaths
Great introduction sentence and structure to The Guardian article on the Glasgow pub story today on the paper edition on page 1. Can’t find it online, which is a pity. It was on the front page, written by Lexi Topping. It is a narrative intro: “Saverio Petri, one of the owners of the Clutha Vaults Read More
Kennedy killing story a classic we can all learn from
One of the finest classical news stories ever written was crafted 50 years ago on the killing of President Kennedy. Every writer of any genre can learn from it. Tom Wicker was a White House reporter for the New York Times. Nobody, apart from Oswald, knew this would happen. But Wicker was able to craft Read More
SEEKS: Brave client, must have great S.O.H.
Do you recall this poster campaign? It ran a couple of years ago, and is always worth looking at for a number of important reasons… Firstly, it is an honest ad. The writer at M&C Saatchi should be applauded for suggesting this approach to the client. And the suit who sold it clearly deserves Read More