Archive: writing coach
Stop Over-Capitalization in Your Writing
Avoid the widespread tendency to capitalize common nouns. Not everything has an official, formal name, but many writers think that if it’s something special, it should be upper case. Writers routinely uppercase names of committees, projects, departments, titles...
“They” as a Singular Pronoun: It’s Here to Stay
Grammar purists bristle when they hear the plural they used to refer to one person, but the usage is likely to stick, because it’s a convenient answer to a vexing writing problem. When you don’t know if someone is male or female, you need to find a...Reaching the Unmotivated: Persuading People Who Don’t Care
When you are making a persuasive appeal, your audience might be supportive or opposed, but what about people who simply don’t care? Influencing people who are indifferent and unmotivated requires different tactics. These are not always people you can ignore, because...Influencing Your Audience: Making Your Persuasive Message Stick
Capturing interest at the start of a message is important, but in persuasive writing, you also need to sustain the audience’s attention throughout the message. That’s how you influence people’s thinking and motivate them to accept your ideas. Here...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
Add Punch to Your Writing with Sentence Variety, Rhythm, and Emphasis
Jobs become boring when the daily routine is repetitive, and so does writing when you read short, choppy sentences with …