Mar 18, 2021 | Communication, Effective Writing, Managing, Persuasion
If you are presenting a reader with two ideas in writing, A and then B, and the one you want people to choose is A, should you position it first or second? “Second!” you say, because of the often-heard notion that people remember the last thing they read....
Jul 16, 2020 | Communication, Editing, Effective Writing, Managing, Uncategorized
Simple and direct is the reliable go-to sentence structure of English, but if you edit closely and notice that certain words in a sentence create important emphasis, rearrange the order to position those words at the end. Positioning words for emphasis, so that you...
Jun 18, 2020 | Communication, Editing, Effective Writing, Managing
The way many people read today — tapping, skimming, swiping – is affecting how well we process and remember information, says a neuroscientist who studies digital reading. Maryanne Wolf, author of Reader Come Home: the Reading Brain in a Digital World, says...
May 14, 2020 | Communication, Managing, Persuasion
When you want to convince someone that your point of view stronger than someone else’s, you might avoid mentioning any opposing opinions. After all, that would give people an opportunity to consider those views. But research shows that mentioning an opposing...
Apr 22, 2020 | Communication, Effective Writing, Managing, Uncategorized
People sometimes try to justify they way they write by saying, “that’s my style,” but in business communication, clarity and economy of language take precedence. Style refers to how writers present themselves on the page: the words they choose, the...
Sep 5, 2019 | Communication, Managing, Persuasion
If you want to persuade someone to do you a favor, you’re more likely to succeed if you present it as something that is a few weeks or months away. People usually don’t think clearly about future obligations. The issue is psychological distance. People have a...