Archive: Uncategorized
Use Helping Verbs Only When They Help
Helping verbs (is, are, was, were, will be, etc.) often are necessary to express a point in time (verb tense), but you can strengthen your sentence by stripping them when they are unnecessary. Write with strong verbs, a valuable piece of wisdom for centuries,...
Use Short, Vivid Stories to Influence an Audience
We know that stories can be entertaining and inspirational, but they also can be persuasive, for a reason many people are not aware of. When an audience focuses on a story line, they pay less attention to the subtle message intended to influence them. We persuade...
Persuasive Writing: Change the Frame of Reference
The key to persuading an audience is your ability to overcome resistance, because persuasion is rarely necessary unless the audience doesn’t like your idea, doesn’t believe your message, or doesn’t like you. If resistance is the big obstacle that stands in the...
Using Correct Punctuation with “because” and “however”
Where to use commas and semicolons can be challenging in many sentences, but how to punctuate around because and however can cause considerable head scratching. A comma before “because” Punctuation marks are not little black marks that we randomly sprinkle...
Commas are No Small Matter
Many people think that whether to put a comma before “and” in a series is a trivial issue, but two judges disagreed. For decades, people have bickered about the need for a comma before “and” in a series of three or more things. Some people insist on it,...By Ken O’Quinn
Focus on Them
Perfect Phrases for Business Letters (McGraw-Hill)
TD at Work — Business Writing for Managers
As a contributing author in this book on leadership, Ken offers insights and tips for managing difficult conversations, providing effective feedback, and being authentic. Order here.
Perfect Phrases for Business Letters (McGraw-Hill)
Provides the right words and phrases for any situation - quickly. The book was reprinted in Japanese because of high-volume sales there.
TD at Work — Business Writing for Managers
The Association for Talent Development invited Ken to write this 22-page booklet for the TD at Work series.
Current Blog Post
Persuasion: Make Your Expertise Known
If you are trying to persuade someone on a topic that you are knowledgeable about, convey your expertise up front. …