Writing Skills

Helpful Hacks for Taking Great Meeting Minutes

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Discover helpful hacks to take comprehensive meeting minutes in-person and remotely. Learn to take notes during meetings like an expert minute taker.

Leaders need to be good writers, too

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 16:42:53 -0500

You’ve probably already drawn up your list of resolutions and goals for 2022. Allow me to make a pitch for adding one more: improving your writing skills. Yes, that may sound like one of those evergreen goals. But it’s particularly relevant for leadership right now. After all...

Twitter, Facebook And Acting Responsibly

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 02:00:00 -0400

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has announced that his company will no longer accept political advertising, essentially arguing that the reach of a campaign should be earned, not bought. “While internet advertising is incredibly powerful and...

Featured Resource: ProWritingAid Premium: 2-Yr Subscription

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 00:00:00 -0400

We all make silly writing mistakes. It's a virtual guarantee in today's fast-moving digital business world. Clean it up and improve your writing with ProWritingAid, a grammar checker, style editor, and writing mentor all in a single package. Exceptional writing requires more than just correct grammar. ProWritingAid's editing technology uses artificial intelligence to go way beyond grammar, helping you to enhance your style, better express your ideas, and reach new writing heights.

39 Sales Email Subject Lines That Get Opened, Read, and Responded To

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 04:00:00 -0400

Just like a gatekeeper can prevent a salesperson from reaching the manager or executive they want to get in touch with, a subject line can block a prospect from opening a sales email.

So, what makes a good subject line?...

If You Want Your Marketing Campaign To Succeed, Choose Your Words Carefully

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Word choice is a crucial component of any marketing strategy. In the realm of clean energy, a main focus of our communications firm, it’s arguably the most important component. When you’re trying to build a narrative to explain...

90 sample phrases for negative performance reviews

Tue, 04 Jun 2019 03:00:00 -0400

Writing performance reviews probably isn’t the aspect of your job that you look forward to the most. When you’re required to write negative performance reviews, the process can turn from tedious to daunting.

While no one likes to be the bearer of bad news...

The Absolute Worst Way to Begin an Email

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 04:00:00 -0400

I just checked my inbox and there it was. Yet another email that opens with that gawd-awful phrase "I hope you're well." I get emails like this all the time...

8 Cold Sales Email Tips to Boost Your Response Rate

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 02:00:00 -0400

Ask any working professional and they’ll tell you about the countless unsolicited emails they receive, and delete, on a daily basis. Most of this messaging is not only unwanted, but also impersonal and lacking originality.

That being said...

How to Create a Branding Style Guide for Your Marketing Team

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400

No matter what type of business you’re in, there’s always going to be a certain way you run it and present it to the world. Your attitudes, mission, and values are all important elements of any business and it’s essential that you and your team members adopt them to accurately represent your brand.

If you’re going to run a business with a solid brand image...

Factual, or Warm and Fuzzy? Why Choosing the Right Words Matters

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0400

People use words to communicate what they think, feel and believe. But for social psychologists, words can do far more than convey one’s thoughts and emotions. The right combination of words can...

2016 CSO Insights Sales Best Practices Study

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0500

This year's theme of "drawing back the bow" expresses our view of professional selling as a discipline and a creative endeavor. Imagine a strip of film being advanced frame by frame: A target sits at the far end of a large field. An archer steps up to the line with a bow and arrow. The bow is raised, the arrow nocked. Now, inch-by- inch, the arrow is moved backwards--away from the target. It is precisely this motion of drawing back the bow that determines the force and speed of the arrow's flight.

Instagram Marketing Tips For Business That Get Results

Mon, 03 Dec 2018 10:30:00 -0500

Think about the last thing you posted on your company's Instagram account. Did you craft the content thoughtfully? Was it created based on your target audience's interests? If you nodded in response to both of these questions, great! You probably have an Instagram marketing strategy in place to guide your posting efforts. As with any social media channel...

How To Explain Something So That Everyone Understands It

Fri, 19 Oct 2018 12:23:00 -0400

You have something important to convey. And you really need the people you're talking about to get it, buy into it and maybe even act on it. But your topic is complicated. And to build your explanation, you've created a lot of slides. And each slide contains a lot of data. And you worry that...

8 Ways To Significantly Improve Your Writing

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 06:55:46 -0400

The other day, I wrote about a technique that many great writers use to take their work to the next level: reading aloud. And while I'll explain more about that in a minute, a colleague reminded me that reading aloud is not the only way to improve your writing. In fact, many experienced writers (including me) use these 8 strategies for enhancing their work...

Avatars In Recruiting Messages: Enhanced Communication Or A Desperate Gimmick?

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 06:36:59 -0400

Texting may now be the norm for recruiters eager to engage in-demand 20-something job candidates, but does that mean smiley faces and poop emojis are now part of the recruiting message cadence? According to Aman Brar...

A Definitive Guide To Writing Damn-Good Product Descriptions

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 08:49:23 -0400

There are a lot of factors that go into making sales online (great user experience, fair pricing, enticing images, etc.), but your product description is a major player in this process and shouldn't be ignored or rushed through. Yes, the fine art of seducing your buyers is done not only through...

40 Jobs In A Year? The Craziest Things Candidates Put On Their Resume

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 08:12:15 -0400

Sixty seconds. That's the maximum amount of time two-thirds of hiring managers spend reviewing a resume to make up their mind about a candidate. Which is why many folks try to maximize that minute by making their resume stand out. Only this might not be what they had in mind. The folks at CareerBuilder just released...

Don't Press Send! 7 Email Faux Pas You Want To Avoid

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 11:41:15 -0400

Email is unavoidable in the workplace, and the amount of messages filling up employees' inboxes can be annoying and intimidating. These days, practically anyone is able to contact you via email (and you can do the same). Because of this...

30 Employee Handbook Do's And Don'ts From The NLRB

Fri, 20 Jul 2018 07:49:52 -0400

To help employers craft handbooks that don't violate the National Labor Relations Act, the National Labor Relations Board has issued a compilation of rules it has found to be illegal - and rewritten them to illustrate how they can comply with the law. It was issued as a...

The Dreaded Termination Talk: Helping Managers Get It Right

Fri, 06 Jul 2018 11:04:06 -0400

The termination conversation: The most distasteful part of any manager's job. Here are some guidelines on how to handle these confrontations in a humane, controlled and legally safe way. Before a confrontation can happen...

8 Reasons Your Business Doesn't Appear On The First Page Of Google Search

Fri, 18 May 2018 05:36:35 -0400

You've owned your own business for a short while now, and in your world, things have been going swimmingly. Word of mouth is traveling fast in your community and your fresh, modern coworking space is packed. People love the atmosphere. Your employees are kickass. But there seems to be trouble in paradise...

Taking Effective And Accurate Meeting Minutes

Mon, 14 May 2018 11:17:07 -0400

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Taking Effective And Accurate Meeting Minutes

Thu, 03 May 2018 05:25:04 -0400

When you're asked to take minutes at a meeting, you have the role of creating the "official record of the event" and ensuring that it is accurate. Key decisions made at these meetings can involve millions of dollars, so it's critical for you to take clear and precise notes...

85% Of Resumes Contain Lies: 3 Ways To Spot And Stop Them

Wed, 02 May 2018 08:50:10 -0400

It's not surprising some job applicants feel the need to embellish their resumes to get a better shot at a job. But the exact number - now 85% - has risen dramatically over the past few years. Resume lies have become so common that a lot of dishonest applicants are going undetected. Whether this is due to increasing pressure to fill positions quickly or trusting HR pros, a survey by SimplyHired discovered that 46% of hiring managers fail to check references, and 65% don't verify a candidate's education. Even more shockingly...

The 1 Email You Should Never Ever Write (Or, If You Do, Don't Send It)

Mon, 23 Apr 2018 05:51:36 -0400

Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek. It's still happening. I thought people were over this by now. I thought they'd realized that it represented everything wrong about communication. It appears not. Which is odd, because...

A Study Of 300,000 Messages Reveals The Best Way To Start An Email

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 11:57:45 -0400

Somewhere along the way, I quit using email greetings like "Dear" and fell into a pattern. If I don't know the recipient, I start an email with "Hi (John)." If I know the recipient, I say, "Hey (John)." And if I've exchanged emails with the recipient but for some reason feel a slightly more formal approach makes sense -- if we haven't emailed for a long time, or the person's status makes me feel like "Hey" is too familiar -- then I stick with "Hi." I figure I can't go wrong with "Hi." Turns out...

5 Horrific (Yet True) Cover Letter Mistakes, As Told By Recruiters

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 09:15:43 -0500

A hot topic of discussion these days in my industry is whether job seekers should bother writing cover letters. Some recruiters say they no longer read them. However, in my recent experience working with job seekers, I've seen plenty of well-written cover letters in the latest formats help candidates stand out and land job interviews. Unfortunately, most people don't study up on the right way to write a cover letter. And that, leads to this...

Viewpoint: AI Says I Have A 12% Chance Of Succeeding At My Job

Thu, 22 Feb 2018 06:34:29 -0500

According to artificial intelligence (AI), I have only a 12 percent chance of making it one year as a writer. Having been a writer for the last 25, I'm not too concerned. If you're applying for work at Unilever or Accenture, though, you might want to be. Frida Polli, Ph.D., CEO and cofounder of Pymetrics, says it and other companies use...

Proofread With Perfection: Proofreading And Editing Techniques For Flawless Communication

Mon, 19 Feb 2018 07:56:30 -0500

Poor proofreading can cost you your job. A misplaced decimal, a name spelled wrong, a word misused, a number transposed - brush it off and the consequences can be dire. Don't leave this important job to chance. Find out the tricks the pros use, and catch the mistakes that can hurt your credibility and ruin your career. Learn to proofread with perfection, get a grasp on...