Blog
How to Actually Get Your Questions Answered in an Email
If you send an email asking two or three questions and the reader only answers one, it's because you didn't make it easy for the person to respond. Not all messages involve one simple question requiring one simple answer; sometimes the subject matter is more complex...
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Should You Write the Way You Talk? Conversational Writing Tips
"Write the way you talk" is good advice for being conversational, but not necessarily for being concise. That's because the way you talk is anything but concise. Conversational writing has a simplified, relaxed quality, and you might read your message aloud and think...
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Tips for Writing in First Person and Third Person
When you write, use either the first person or third person point of view, but avoid shifting back and forth in the same sentence or paragraph. It can be confusing. We have three points of view in English: First person is the person speaking, so we write use the...
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Don’t Slow Down Your Reader with this Mistake
Quotes are often followed by an executive's lengthy title, sometimes more than one, but that level of specificity just slows the reader. Attribution is important, but there is no need to be excessive. The bank news release quote ended with ... said Pam Sears, CFA,...
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One Way Students May Surprise You with Their Writing Skills
A study of student writing found that most students knew enough to avoid using "textisms" in formal assignments. Ever since instant messaging arrived in the mid 90s, there has been concern about a decline in writing skills, and it increased with the advent of text...
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Being an Effective Communicator Demands Good Listening Skills
Being a good communicator is not just about speaking and writing; you also need to be an attentive listener. We assume we must have the ability to listen. After all, we have been listening to people since we were born, or at least, we think so. It’s more likely that...
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Tips to Identify and Avoid Powerless Communication
Avoid using hedges and hesitations in your business communication, which cause the audience to question your credibility. Several experiments in social psychology have shown that a person with a powerful speaking style influences how the audience evaluates that...
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How to Make Your Writing Relevant to the Reader
Whether you are announcing news via the traditional press release or using only social media channels, be sure to write for your readers. Understand your audience's mind might be the oldest principle of communication, and yet, it also might be the one people continue...
read moreBy Ken O’Quinn
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
Use Vivid Language to Persuade People to Accept Your Idea
Asking an audience to do something or to agree with your viewpoint is more persuasive when you use vivid language …