At the end of my business writing courses I’ve often given out a list of recommended reading. The idea is that people’s writing is influenced by what they read and that a dose of good fiction may counteract the corporate drivel that they are inundated with at work. I’m thinking of adding Dickens’ novels to […]
Just as I had settled into my seat on the train and was looking forward to a good breakfast, a voice announced that there would be no restaurant trolley coming down the train “due to a shortfall in staffing levels”. What had happened? The announcement gave nothing away. Those dull abstract nouns “shortfall” and “levels” […]
The Christmas edition of The Big Issue carries a plea from its founder-editor, John Bird, for more clarity in dealings between the public and the state. In his editorial letter to Santa, Bird says clarity in parliament and on the part of the government is in short supply. Instead, he says “One feels that turd […]
I am driven wild by websites that force you to do things you don’t want to or haven’t time to do. No wonder so many websites fail. You want to buy; they want to sell, but they don’t take the trouble to make it easy for you. For example, I wanted to buy some sheet […]
Not Persuasion with a capital P. I’m not suggesting we could outdo Jane Austen, but that headline did lift my spirits. It’s the conclusion of some research into what makes a good website, carried out by marketingexperiments.com and reported by Gerry McGovern in one of his weekly newsletters. The researchers found that it was more […]