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Inside out. Outside in. Perpetual change. »

One of the biggest advantages of thinking about our businesses with new technologies in mind, is that it can enlighten us to see our companies from the outside looking in. As we all know, business is redefining itself. Smart companies are thinking backwards. They may call it business process reengineering ...

Say What? Start making sense. »

Say What? A blog with ideas you can use to start making sense. http://johnsturtevant.blogspot.com/

10 Clear Ideas for writing well. »

1. Answer the question: “Why am I writing?” We’re taught that it’s important to fill up pages, impress people, and be right. Those goals will rarely (make that never) result in clear thinking or clear writing. Instead, define a clear objective for writing your memo, report, proposal, email ...

As a rule: Clear writing delivers bottom-line benefits. »

Last year, Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire ordered all state agencies to adopt what he called “plain talk” principles. Since then, more than 2,000 state employees have attended training to help them write in clear, everyday language. And they’re seeing results in more than just concise memos. For ...

Clear idea #4 Plan, Write, Revise, Edit. »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean – clearly and persuasively. 4. Plan, write, revise, edit. In that order. We’ve all struggled with the editor in our heads who won’t let us go on to sentence number two until we’ve polished sentence number one. Fire that ...

Clear idea #10: Ask simple questions. »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean – clearly and persuasively. 10. Ask a lot of simple questions. Here are a few to get you started. “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?” Your reader is asking those questions as he reads your letter, memo, report, proposal, email, or analysis ...

Clear idea #9: Find time to think. »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean – clearly and persuasively. 9. Give yourself the freedom to think. Have you ever been stuck in traffic? Do you like those moments? No? Well, I invite you to cherish those opportunities! That’s right. The next time you’re stuck behind ...

Clear idea #8: Read your writing out loud. »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean – clearly and persuasively. 8. Read your writing out loud. Before you send your document, print it, get up from your desk, and walk down the hall reading it out loud. A few things will happen. First, you’ll get bored. Bored ...

Clear idea #7: Transparent writing. »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean – clearly and persuasively. 7. Transparent writing. Clear writing is like a window. Your ideas are the view. You don’t want your reader to think: “Gosh, that’s a clever sentence”. Instead your reader ought to be thinking: “Wow, this guy ...

Clear idea #6: Perfectly sliced tomatoes. »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean – clearly and persuasively. 6. Perfectly sliced tomatoes. Remember the Ginsu Knives commercials that ran on late-night TV? Those people sold millions of dollars worth of knives thanks to seven simple words. “Look how easily it cuts a tomato.” They showed us ...

Clear idea #5: Information is useless. »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean – clearly and persuasively. 5. Information is useless. The information superhighway. How quaint. Technology, tempered by wisdom, has evolved the information age into the knowledge age. Most people despise data and crave context. Your job as a communicator is to show your ...

Clear idea #3: Know your reader »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean - clearly and persuasively. 3. Know your reader I mean really know your reader. Not just a name, or a demographic, or a subscriber number. But who they are, how they think, what’s important to them, and why and how and ...

Clear idea #2: Define your objective. »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean - clearly and persuasively. 2. Answer the question: “Why am I writing?” We’re taught that it’s important to fill up pages, impress people, be right. Those goals will rarely (make that never) result in clear thinking or clear writing. Instead ...

Clear idea #1: Be Clear »

Simple ideas to help you write what you mean – clearly and persuasively. 1. Be clear The essence of clear writing is to focus on being clear. So often, we simply pour out everything on our minds – in any which way – and dump it in our reader’s lap. The next ...

How to be clear and write what you mean. »

"The principles are clear, the teaching style is relaxed and fun, and we actually used what we learned right away." - Jack Branhauf, Houston CPA No matter what kind of business writing seminar, writing training, or technical writing classes you've tried, here's the only guide you'll need to ...

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