
How many times have you read, or heard in films, the phrase ‘The prodigal son returns’?
Not only is it a little tired and predictable, people tend to use it wrongly.
Continue reading “Prodigal? No Way”Human Skills and Better Communication
How many times have you read, or heard in films, the phrase ‘The prodigal son returns’?
Not only is it a little tired and predictable, people tend to use it wrongly.
Continue reading “Prodigal? No Way”Rain, reign or rein? People often make mistakes when choosing between homophones (words that sound the same but have different spelling and different meanings). I see errors in the use of ‘reign’, ‘rein’ (and, occasionally, ‘rain’) almost every week.
Here’s how to sort them out.
Continue reading “Rain, Reign Or Rein?”It’s summer – at least, in the Southern Hemisphere it is. And the New Year is a good time to prepare for the year ahead and rethink communications.
Are you still on a holiday break? Or perhaps you’re back at work, experiencing the post-festivities lull before everything speeds up again.
Either way, here are 6 cool tips to help you be the ‘hot ticket’ this summer (or any time).
Continue reading “Rethink Communications – 6 Cool Tips”Many writers and speakers are confused about whether something is irony or coincidence. They both involve a relationship between constructed or real-life events but the two are, in fact, totally different.
Continue reading “Is That Irony Or Coincidence?”‘Thus’ or ‘therefore’? There is endless confusion about these two words.
But be warned: the confusion is made even worse by faulty (read, ‘plain wrong’) advice offered on several so-called ‘language learning’ sites.
The difference between the two words is quite straightforward.
Continue reading “Thus Or Therefore?”Loathe or loath? People often confuse these words. They have similar origins and both are related to negative feelings but they mean quite different things.
Usually, the reason for errors is not knowing whether to put in the ‘e’.
Continue reading “Loathe Or Loath?”‘Appraise’ or ‘apprise’? Are you confident about which you should use?
As an editor, I frequently correct errors in the use of these similar sounding words. Sometimes, predictive text is to blame; the tools don’t always know the difference and often seem to prefer ‘appraise’…
Continue reading “Appraise Or Apprise?”Don’t ‘measure the measurer’. Advertisers are major culprits but you might have seen this type of error in other places. What does it mean?
It’s such a common mistake, you mightn’t even realise why it’s wrong.
Let me explain.
Continue reading “Don’t Measure The Measurer”If you were to ask one hundred people for the definition of ‘trite’, I predict a large percentage would say it means ‘silly’, ‘superficial’, ‘inconsequential’, ‘trivial’ or something similar. That’s not what it means, though.
We can use one or more of those words to describe something which also happens to be trite, but the words aren’t directly related. None of the words is a synonym of ‘trite’.
Continue reading “Trite: Just Tired And Worn Out”Networking is one of the essential ingredients of success. Ask a successful person!
But what is it? The shorthand version might go something like this:
A is for Attitude. It’s your approach, your personality and how you incorporate it into your life. It’s social.
B is for Business. It’s professional, systematic and a vital part of your work. It’s practical.
C is for Communication. It’s two-way interaction, effective messaging and clarity. It’s interpersonal.
OK… It might not be as easy as A.B.C. Maybe it’s more like N.E.T.W.O.R.K.I.N.G.
Continue reading “N.E.T.W.O.R.K.I.N.G. | Let’s Spell It Out”