TGIF – Write On!

As the week winds down, we wind down with some tidbits for your information, education, health, and enjoyment.

Quote of the Week: “I’m sorry this letter is so long, but I didn’t have time to make it short” Blaise Pascal (also attributed to several others)

Humor Break: How some people close a business letter:  Aretha Franklin signs off with R-E-S-P-E-C-T-fully; a judge signs off with Yours truly and nothing but the truly; and (in my imagination) the Devil signs off with Sin Seerly.

Stat of the Week: 15 ways you can quickly improve your writing skills … including how to be more “email friendly”. 

Action Tip: Okay, today’s tip takes time and requires a certain amount of “guts.”  But how will you learn and get better?  And this takes far less time than going to a class.  Get a writing sample, at least three paragraphs, and exchange it with a fellow learner (preferably a buddy).  Ask the other person to (1) cross out excessive words, phrases or sentences (2) circle phrases or sentences that are unclear or awkward and (3) circle any typos (those that spell check won’t pick up like “you” for “your”).   When your buddy returns your sample, study the suggested corrections and DON’T argue with your buddy!  It’s just feedback!

Volunteering: If you live in the Southern California area, what better way to support better writing than to volunteer at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.  Hop to it, its next weekend!
[tags]business writing, writing skills, bill bradley, william bradley, bradley[/tags]

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.