For several years, I had a cartoon pinned to the cork board beside my desk. It showed a dog listening to his master. From the dog’s point of view, the man appeared to be saying: ‘Blah blah blah biscuit. Blah … Continue reading
The cat sat on the mat. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that, in six simple words, is what happened. The cat sat on the mat. But that’s not what you expect to read when you pick up an ‘important report’, is … Continue reading
I recently read a document that ran to more than 50 pages. In fact I read it twice. I thought that on the first occasion I must have missed some important points. But, after reading it a second time, I … Continue reading
There is an interesting debate going on in the world of words. On one side of the table there are those who believe that standardised spelling and a few basic rules of grammar are essential to effective communication. On the … Continue reading
A couple of years ago, one of my colleagues was hired by a research agency to help add a bit of clarity and style to their reports. ‘I want our reports to be reports that our clients really want to … Continue reading
I recently tried to read an article written by a woman who apparently regards herself as something of a communications guru. Unfortunately, the first (short) paragraph was a bit of a disaster. After reading it through slowly two or three … Continue reading
Back in the dim distant days of the fifth form, we had an English teacher who insisted that nice – in the sense of ‘pleasant or agreeable’ – could only apply to food. A ‘nice day’ or ‘a nice broad-brimmed … Continue reading
Recently, a dear friend (who is also an art tutor) was struggling to put together a manual. This woman knows her stuff. And she’s an eloquent speaker. But when she tried to produce a written version of some of the … Continue reading
The dog barked at the postie!!!!! See what I did there? I took a perfectly ordinary, unremarkable sentence and made it really exciting by adding a row of exclamation marks. Well, maybe not really exciting. In fact, not even a … Continue reading
On a shelf of the bookcase that sits at my elbow there are 17 dictionaries. Another three live, more or less permanently, on my desk. (Even in this speed-of-light online age, I still find myself referring to ‘paper’ dictionaries several … Continue reading