Many of us have seen the spellcheck on our devices suggest that we revise from passive voice to the active. OK. What if we don’t know what that means? What is active voice? When we talk about active and passive voice, we are talking about the action described by the verbs in the sentence. When you … Read On >
The decision has been made – time for a new job! The résumé has been spiffed up, and you have found the perfect new position for you. Now it is time for the cover letter. This is your chance to speak in your voice and tell this company why they want to hire you. The question … Read On >
Well lookie here… the Earth has revolved around the Sun once again! Three hundred sixty-five days have elapsed (or as the cast in the musical Rent would sing, “525,600 Minutes”). A year is a good marker for progress made. Once it’s completed, it all starts again. Happy New Year. Two thousand seventeen has been Improving Communications’ best year yet. We owe … Read On >
Using capital letters properly is a sign of respect for your audience and subject. By not using, or misusing capital letters, your readers may think that you don’t know what’s correct (or even worse, don’t care). It may send a message to others that makes you look thoughtless. None of us would want that. If … Read On >
Usually the Improving Communications emails and posts focus on what you CAN DO to improve your writing or your speaking. But today we are going to focus on what NOT TO DO. But do you know the things that should be on the You Don’t Say list? When my daughter came home from her first day … Read On >
Hiring a tech writer or copy writer? Have you thought to consider that an English degree would come in handy? There is a readwrite article by Matt Asay, vice president of business development and corporate strategy at MongoDB, Inc. In his article, the author makes a strong case for why we need good writers on staff in all our business ventures. It’s well … Read On >
The Executive Summary may be the only thing the reader will read. It is your chance to gain an advantage and make the persuasive case, ultimately to promote the reason why they would want to select your ideas.
Misplaced Modifiers Groucho Marx: “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I’ll never know” The term “misplaced modifier” means that the descriptor in the sentence is in the wrong place. Sometimes, these can be quite humorous, even though the writer/speaker may not have intended them to be. … Read On >
Organize Your Writing Organization in writing means putting the information in an order that the audience will best understand. There are three basic ways to organize: Category – putting similar things together in groups. Range – chronological or alphabetic order (highest to lowest, top to bottom, first to last). Location – spatial placement in proximity to each other. Sentence … Read On >