Business - Business Writing

September 22, 2011

Interview with Simon Garfield, author of the book Just My Type: A Book About Fonts

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Mike Carruthers:
If you type on a computer you know that you can choose one of countless typefaces.

Simon Garfield:
There were thousands of type designers and there are thousands now still trying to find a way of making a new “a” or a new “b” and it’s an art.
 

September 1, 2011

Interview with Sandra Lamb, author of the book How to Write It: Complete Guide to Everything You'll Ever Write

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Mike Carruthers:
Have you ever had to write something and had trouble saying what it is that you want to say? Well, here’s some help

Sandra Lamb:
Think through your message all the way from beginning to end and be able to state what you are going to write in 1 message sentence.
 

February 25, 2011

Interview with Dan Roam, author of the book The Back of the Napkin (Expanded Edition): Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures

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Mike Carruthers:
If you go to meetings much, you know that most of the time people talk and talk and talk and it can all be pretty boring. And yet…

Dan Roam:
The moment that someone pulls out a piece of paper and says, "Let me explain my idea with a picture," magic takes place in the room every single time.
 

November 11, 2010

Interview with Diana Young, author of the book Be a Brilliant Business Writer: Write Well, Write Fast, and Whip the Competition

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Mike Carruthers:
People actually make judgments about you based on your style of writing.

Diana Young:
Actually there was a guy at Princeton, Daniel Oppenheimer who studied this and found out that people judged writers to be less intelligent when they used complicated words, complex sentence structure and even hard to read fonts or design.

November 10, 2010

Interview with Diana Young, author of the book Be a Brilliant Business Writer: Write Well, Write Fast, and Whip the Competition

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Mike Carruthers:
If as part of your job you have to write letters, memos or emails you better get to the point pretty quick.

Diana Young:
Cognitive psychologists actually study this – your readers are going to give your message about 4 and ½ seconds. So if you haven’t got your key point across in that time you’ve lost your chance.
 

August 31, 2010

Interview with Patricia O’Conner, author of the book Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English

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Mike Carruthers:
Its always bothered me when people pronounce the word "nuclear" as "nuculear" - however…

Patricia O'Conner:
The newest Merriam Webster's dictionary now includes that as a standard pronunciation - it's not the leading one, it's not number one but it's in there.
 

August 12, 2010

Interview with June Casagrande, author of the book It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Killer Sentences

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Mike Carruthers:
If you’d like to be a more effective writer here’s some great advice from someone who edits other writers writing.

June Casagrande:
One of the things that I’m constantly chopping out of novice writers articles (and by novice I mean professionals just not very seasoned professionals) is the word currently, the word formerly, little additions like; in addition to and consequently.
 

March 29, 2010

Interview with Stacey Hanke, author of the book Yes You Can!: Everything You Need From A to Z to Influence Others to Take Action

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Mike Carruthers:
Should you send an email or talk to the person, careful what you chose because you could end up in trouble.

Stacey Hanke:
Bottom line when in doubt always either pick up the phone first or have a face-to-face conversation – we need to understand that once it’s in writing it’s always there.
 

January 22, 2010

Interview with Frans Johansson, author of the book Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation

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Mike Carruthers:
People who come up with great ideas typically have something in common.

Frans Johansson:
If there's one thing that characterizes breakthrough artists, scientists, entrepreneurs - it is that they generate and try out many ideas.

Frans Johansson, author of the book Medici Effect, says Pablo Picasso for example…

October 6, 2009

Interview with Ron Cates Spokesperson for Constant Contact

www.roncates.com

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Mike Carruthers:
People don’t read email the same way they read a letter on a piece of paper. When you send someone an email…

Ron Cates:
They spend two to two and a half minutes and they scan it. They look at the upper left of the screen the most, that gets the most view "heat." Then they look at headlines and a couple of sentences below.

Ron Cates