Words matter in business writing

Posted on August 3, 2021 by geewhizkid

Today’s blog read comes from Ryan Lundquist, a good friend with social media prowess and influence, who writes about avoiding subjective language in the real estate appraisal industry.

Ryan hits the nail squarely on the head. The use of subjective language in business writing creates opportunities for miscommunication. The miscommunication can cause a reader to come to a misunderstanding. In the appraisal industry, an extreme example of misunderstanding could result in claims of classism, elitism, and racism.

Check out his blog post “Just say no to subjective language in real estate” to see how he champions the technical communicator’s tools of accuracy and clarity in writing. See how you might translate this to your own profession.

Understand the difference between objective language and subjective language. Examine your own writing for unintentional subjective language.

Words matter. Write on?

Finishing what I started

Posted on July 12, 2020 by geewhizkid

Did you know that I struggle with finishing things that I start?

I start a lot of things, but seldom finish them. I have countless journal pages with outlines for posts that I never finished. I have projects in the garage with all the pieces, one or two steps completed, but not finished. I have books on my shelf with bookmarks wedged somewhere in the first few chapters, but not finished.

That’s it. Today I take a stand. I’m committing myself. Today I’m going to fini

The ABCs of good communication just got an “F”

Posted on December 28, 2018 by geewhizkid

Why the heck do we communicate information? Answer that question correctly and you win. Win your audience, that is.

But waste their time by creating useless, inaccurate, wordy, muddled, ugly, purposeless, and hard-to-find content and you will have bought a ticket to unemployment. So how can you ensure you don’t waste your audience’s time?

Follow these ABCs of good communication:

A is for accuracy – Research every fact and conclusion you make. Rely on SMEs (subject matter experts) and check sources.

B is for brevity – Be brief. Edit ruthlessly. Make every paragraph, every sentence, and every word earn its right to be.

C is for clarity – Eliminate misunderstood words. Write phrases that can be understood by a 5th grade-level reader. (You’re not “dumbing it down.” You’re making sure all levels Continue reading →

I was last

Posted on October 26, 2016 by geewhizkid

Back when “Words with Friends” was the thing, I played simultaneous games with Scrabble tile letter I several different opponents.

I was in a close game with a brilliant opponent, who was challenging me with her strategic placement and clever command of the English language.

I got down to my last set of tiles.

Then he/she won, leaving me just one tile.

The letter “i.”

I was last.

My dad taught the word altruism to all of the kids. Look it up.

That’s sort of indicative of the philosophy and guiding principle that dictates much of my worldly interactions today. My mission is to support others, to encourage others, to facilitate others’ success.
Often that means they go first. First in line. First to get served. First to be heard from.
That’s ok with me.
I was last.

S.a.l.e.s. S.u.p.p.o.r.t.

Posted on June 16, 2016 by geewhizkid

2009-SacFoodBank In a team funstorming session today, our department, Sales Support, brainstormed on the question “what is Sales Support?” Like others, our team designed a poster with words, images from magazines, and markers.

Meanwhile, I wrote out these lyrics:

S is for SUPPORT…it’s what we do.

A is for ASSERTIVENESS…I’m talking to you!

L is for LEARNERS…and the word might be “train,”

but what we do is tweak the brain.

E is for EXCELLENCE… we do nothing half-a$$ed

S is for SPEED…and we. mean. FAST!

S is for SIGHT…we help people see.

U is for UNITY…it’s all about …WE.

P is PROFICIENCY…our audience relies on it.

P is for POWER…we supply all of it.

O is OPTIMIZATION…fitting resources to a “T”

R is RESPECT…spelled R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

T is meant to end it on the word TEAM.

put it all together, we fulfill Sales’ DREAM.

(exits stage right. And our team won.)

Kickstarting your career

Posted on May 17, 2016 by geewhizkid

had the fortune of joining VSP Global’s innovation lab, the SHOP, for a 90-day rotation, using Design Thinking and Innovator’s Business Composer on a fellow employee’s innovation idea.

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The fast-paced timetable, collaborative and fluid environment, start-up mentality, empowered decision making, and physical distance from corporate headquarters exposed me to some amazing situations.

I’m back at my day job, but I can say it kick started my personal career, confirmed my personal mission, and helped clarify my personal brand.

Read “how can employees innovate no matter their job title? VSP Global CEO Jim McGrann shares his thoughts with Forbes magazine.” http://shout.lt/bzTzb

What’s your biggest regret?

Posted on February 24, 2016 by geewhizkid

Blackboard posted in New York prompted passersby to write theirs.

Then, you see the common word in all of them.

Every day is a clean slate. Go reach even further.

404 Not Found (I must keep looking)

Posted on November 10, 2015 by geewhizkid

I suffer from Half-Heimers. My wife says I can’t remember half the stuff she asks me to remember.
Not all. Just half.

For example, I forgot what I was going to blog about today.
So today’s blog po 404-found st is my 404 not found post.

I hope the subtle humor is not lost on you.

The 404 Not Found error message is ubiquitous and annoying enough that several creatives have graced the interwebs with their clever 404 pages.

I’m sorry. My brain did not find today’s post in its memory banks.

Please return to our home page: geewhiz.wordpress.com/ and give my brain another chance.

White Cane Safety Day

Posted on October 15, 2015 by geewhizkid

October 15 is White Cane Safety Day. So what’s the deal with the white cane?

I collaborated with the Society for the Blind to understand.

See what’s possible at vspblog.com

Red or white bullhorn?

Posted on March 18, 2015 by geewhizkid

“Why are we asking the blind woman whether she wants a red or a white bullhorn?”

That strange phrase woke me up one night. I had just suffered through a nightmare where a team of coworkers were arguing over a bullhorn, whether it should be red or white. A lot of money and time was going into that argument.

Then I blurted out “why are we asking the blind woman whether she wants a red or a white bullhorn?”

And woke up with a jolt.

Do you find yourself going down a path, stopping at a fork in the road, debating the decision, only to stop and ask if indeed you’re even on the right journey?

This innovation geewhizdom was inspired by a bullhorn.

Perfectionism is killing me

Posted on February 9, 2012 by geewhizkid

I’m a closet perfectionist. It’s in my DNA.

The danger of perfectionism is that nothing gets completed. Sure, I get work done, but that often leads to me tweaking and refining and perfecting and revising and reworking and never reaching the point where I am satisfied.

Because I’m shooting for the perfect, when I should be shooting for the good.

Funny thing is I just read about it in this post by ProBlogger Darren Rowse, “Perfectionism: the ultimate time drain?”

You should have seen how much angst I put myself through just getting this post started, written, and finished.

There.

"geeWHIZ"

Things that should be "OBVIOUS"… [O]ptimism, [B]revity, [V]ision, [I]nnovation, [O]riginality, [U]sability, [S]implicity

Category Archives: Blogging

Words matter in business writing

Finishing what I started

The ABCs of good communication just got an “F”

I was last

S.a.l.e.s. S.u.p.p.o.r.t.

Kickstarting your career

What’s your biggest regret?

404 Not Found (I must keep looking)

White Cane Safety Day

Red or white bullhorn?

Perfectionism is killing me

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