Human Skills and Better Communication
Perhaps the concept of ‘work-life balance’ just isn’t working for you. There could be good reasons for that. You might be buying into the work-life balance myth.
Like any myth, it’s tied up with belief. We all like to believe there’s a way to have it all.
But in the real world, that’s not going to happen
Continue reading “The Work-Life Balance Myth”
‘Like’, ‘such as’ or ‘as though‘? These are three options that seem interchangeable but aren’t. ‘Like’ is close to being the most overused word in the language and apart from the irritation value, it’s often used wrongly.
Continue reading “‘Like’, ‘Such As’ Or ‘As Though’?”
We’ve all heard about SMART goals. Have you ever considered the concept of SMART meetings?
Leaders and managers who make their meetings SMART are showing the qualities that employees value: respect for the time, the energy and effort, the skills and the dignity of the individual; and commitment to a human-centric approach, in which the individual human being is placed front and centre.
The SMART meeting is an indicator of a human-centred workplace.
Continue reading “SMART Meetings For Smart Managers”
Let’s talk about monster words. Can you think of some monstrously long words?
Apart from the name of ‘that Welsh town that’s almost impossible to pronounce’ (Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch), which has 58 letters, you’ll probably think of antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters).
Continue reading “Monster Words”
Have you ever had trouble deciding whether to use ‘I’, ‘me’ or ‘myself’ in a sentence?
It’s pretty easy to make a mistake, especially when speaking. It’s also easy to avoid making an error when you know a couple of easy tricks.
Continue reading “I, Me Or Myself?”
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?”
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?”