Fix This Writing! Jed’s Customer Email
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Fix This Writing! Jed’s Customer Email

The terrific Leslie O’Flahavan, owner of E-WRITE, and I recently held our first LinkedIn Live broadcast of Fix This Writing! Two Experts Show How to Make Bad Writing Better. Watch the recording and view the writing we discussed below. The idea behind our broadcast is to take an example of not-very-good writing, explain why it’s…

Control your tone to avoid negative attention from readers
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Control your tone to avoid negative attention from readers

When you can’t perceive the variation in pitch between different musical notes, you’re considered tone deaf. That’s how the  Napa Valley Register labeled the four writers of the flyer at right in  9/11 memorial flyer offensive and tone-deaf. So you can also be tagged as tone deaf if you can’t perceive the variation in attitudes conveyed through different…

A good example of bad customer service writing
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A good example of bad customer service writing

I recently discovered Leslie O’Flahavan’s Writing Matters blog and thought I’d share her analysis of some bad writing. Follow the link to see how she re-wrote the email. I look forward to reading more of Leslie’s work. Text of Customer Service Email Leslie Explains Why This is Bad Customer Service Writing Click on the Links for…

You can satisfy consumers and legal at the same time
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You can satisfy consumers and legal at the same time

Thanks to Christopher Trudeau, law professor and plain language champion, I just viewed the Terms of Service for CodePen. Proof that the company takes its consumers and its legal risks seriously! I especially like the clear version of the copyright and content ownership clause: The things you make on CodePen are yours, “CodePen” is ours. …