Press/Articles/Books
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. People who try to make a decision...
read moreUse 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...
read moreUse 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...
read morePersuasive 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...
read moreUsing 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...
read moreCommas 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...
read moreBeing Persuasive: Asking for Less can Lead to More
Too often, people ask for approval of their entire request, regardless of what it is. Asking for less the first time makes the request easier for someone to approve it, and if she approved it once, she is more likely to approve a subsequent request later.
read moreChoosing a Point of View: Be Consistent
People often begin reading a message and suddenly pause, uncertain who is speaking. Is this written from the writer’s perspective, or someone...
read moreDoes a meaningful job matter?
Managers and executives who want to motivate employees try various tactics: contests, free food, bonuses, and rousing speeches from a stage. But...
read moreBy Ken O’Quinn
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. …