On July 28, managers presented second quarter sales reports. Greg Cavalos and Daniel Stein discussed the customer service issues that caused the sales decline. Evan Dupont addressed Greg and Daniel’s report, and I agree with him.

Explanation:
This is an example of an unclear pronoun reference (often technically referred to as a “pronoun antecedent error.”) Is the pronoun “him” referring to Greg, Daniel or Evan? It’s not clear, forcing the reader to make assumptions.

Solution:
If you use a pronoun to refer to previously discussed people, make sure the sentence structure makes it clear to whom you refer. The definitive Gregg Reference Manual provides an excellent explanation of this:

• CONFUSING: Unrealistic deadlines, excessive pressures, and unsafe working conditions can be very damaging to your employees. You must do everything you can to eliminate them. [The employees or the destructive conditions?]
• CLEAR: Unrealistic deadlines, excessive pressures and unsafe working conditions can be very damaging to your employees. You must do everything you can to eliminate these destructive conditions.

Learn More in This Course: Business Grammar: Error-Free Writing

Thanks to Corporate Geek for this clear explanation of how to configure Readability Measures in Microsoft Word 2007:

First, click on the Office Button and then go to Word Options, as shown below.

In the Word Options window, go to the Proofing section. In that section, check the option which says ‘Show readability statistics’ and click on OK.

Once this option is enabled, you can check the readability of any text by pressing the F7 key. Microsoft Word 2007 will first make a spell check of the selected text and, at the end, it will show you the readability statistics.

How To Enable Readability Measures in Microsoft Outlook 2007

In Microsoft Outlook 2007, the procedure is slightly different. First, go to Tools -> Options.

In the Options window, go to the Spelling tab. It is a good idea to check the two available options: ‘Always check spelling before sending’ and ‘Ignore original message text in reply or forward’. By enabling these options, Outlook will always check the correctness of your e-mails before sending them.

Once you have done this, click on the ‘Spelling and AutoCorrection’ button.

In the Editor Options window, go to the Proofing section. Check the option which says ‘Show readability statistics’ and click on OK.

Now, before sending an e-mail message, Outlook will first make a spell check of your message and then will show you the readability statistics. If you did not check the ‘Always check spelling before sending’ option from the Spelling tab, Outlook will not check automatically the readability of your message. You can do this manually by pressing the F7 key before sending the message.

NOTE: The readability statistics are not available for Powerpoint and Excel. You won’t find them in the configuration options. In Microsoft Office 2003, the readability statistics are available only in Word.

What do business writing and climate change have in common? Both, at their core, are about connection and interaction.

I’ve been writing a lot lately about social media and business writing, because highly interconnected, disbursed business communication is increasing. Climate change affects every person living on our plant, now and in the future. Each action we take ripples over our environment, much as a networked business document streams across multiple audiences.

“The art of the concise” brings clarity of thought and expression to business writing. Conservation at work and home bring a balanced life and sustainability to our planet.

Communication and technology offer a great convergence of information. We have one issue, one day, and millions of voices: I hope this article heightens our connection and our awareness of our dependency on each other.

Watch the American Association for the Advancement of Science Discuss Climate Change:

How Can You Help Right Now?

Visit Blog Action Day.org to learn more about today’s world-wide blogging event.

U.S. Citizens: Tell President Obama the World Can’t Wait for Clean Energy:

This December, world leaders will gather in Copenhagen to negotiate a global response to climate change. As a world leader in greenhouse gas pollution, as well as clean energy technology, the United States needs to take bold action by implementing comprehensive clean energy policies to curb emissions. Sign the petition.

Business Writing Format and Style

• The Business Writer’s Handbook

Style Guides

• The Gregg Reference Manual
• The Chicago Manual of Style
• The AP Stylebook

Grammar Guides

• Garner’s Modern American Usage
• Common Errors in English Usage
• Grammarphobia.com
• Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips

Dictionaries and Thesaurus

• Dictionary.com
• Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
  
• Macmillan Online Dictionary
• The Oxford English Dictionary – best dictionary; online access only by subscription

Language Guide

• The Elements of Style

Learn More in This Course: Effective Business Writing Techniques

Learn More in This Course: Business Grammar: Error-Free Writing

Hubspot has a helpful tool: Gobbledygook Grader. It gives you a score based on how many overused gobbledygook phrases you included. I tested two pages on Instructional Solutions’ website, and it did a good job flagging one overused term.

Results for Instructional Solutions’ home page, Business Writing Courses Online or Onsite:

Gobbledygook Grade: 0 out of 100

General Statistics:

• Word Count – 113
• Sentences – 9
• Links – 4
• Readability (minimum education) – Undergraduate
  

Gobbledygook Analysis

• The following gobbledygook words were found: flexible
  

Results for Instructional Solutions’ site page for online business writing courses:

Gobbledygook Grade: 100 out of 100

General Statistics:

• Word Count – 302
  
• Sentences – 19
• Links – 13
  
• Readability (minimum education) – Undergraduate
  

Gobbledygook Analysis

• This content contains 0 words that are considered gobbledygook (they are overused and lack specific meaning).

This tool is useful to diagnose any beaten-to-death business writing terms you might use in your documents. (As an aside: it is time to stop saying or writing “at the end of the day.” I heard this three times in one client meeting today!)

Pick a few random emails you wrote this week. Run them through Hubspot’s Gobbledygook Grader, and see if you you are using any terms that have become so overused they no longer have meaning.

1. Word of the Day – Learn a new word every day at Merriam-Webster Online. This site is most useful because the words chosen are valuable for precision in business writing.
2. Dictionary.com’s Word of the Day – another site similar to Merriam-Webster. (I just learned from Blue Pencil Editing that Dictionary.com has an application available for the iPhone and iPod Touch for easy mobile access.)
3. Vocabulary Tests – Take quizzes and make your own vocabulary lists at Vocaboly.com.
4. Free Rice – Presents more obscure words, but very valuable since this organization donates rice to the World Hunger Fund for each word you define correctly. It’s a wonderful charity and concept, but be warned – this site can be addictive!

You will be able to view resources whether or not you have a Facebook account.

If you do have a Facebook account, become a fan (Facebook’s term, not mine) and receive updates and access to the interactive forums where you can post questions. Instructors and I will answer all questions posted so it’s a great place to get individual help.

This is a central repository of our business writing support information. This blog and our monthly newsletter will be posted here, along with other resources. Most importantly, this is an interactive resource, so you can post questions, ideas and comments and we’ll respond.

Please remember, “Write as if your career depends on it. Because it does.”

Join Our Community

Being New England born and bred, I still have to stop myself from adding an “s” to toward and afterward, as “towards” and “afterwards” are New England colloquialisms. Do you misuse any of these words?

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
~Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

Read the Copyblogger article here.

Mary
Instructional Solutions

DropCard is a free web service that lets you send your full contact information, which you customize, via text message from your mobile phone to someone’s email account. DropCards have another advantage: you can link your social networks on them as well, greatly enhancing networking opportunities.

Envision yourself at a coffee shop Saturday morning in your comfort clothes, waiting for your coffee order, chatting with a new acquaintance also waiting for his coffee. He mentions his company is soon beginning an initiative that is in your field. You fumble in your pocket, but probably have no business card with you. However, you almost certainly have your mobile phone with you. You would simply text “drop and their email” to 41411:
* Example: “drop johndoe@email.com”

Your new business contact will receive all of your contact information in his email. Additionally, he will see your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or whichever social network you provide, which business cards do not convey via click. This lends immediate credibility, and a single-click opportunity to connect further.

A vcard is also attached, for easy import into your contact’s address book. Furthermore, you can set up both business and personal DropCards, or multiple business cards if you hold multiple positions.

I have been testing this for a few weeks, and it has been hugely helpful. This past Sunday was a beautiful crisp fall day, so I went for a walk with my dog at noontime. I had my dog, a leash and my cell phone with me, and nothing else. I ran into a woman at the park who looked familiar to me, and we realized we had both attended the same conference a few weeks ago. I texted her my contact info with DropCard, and now we’re connected on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Business people should still carry good-quality business cards at business functions, but DropCard is a very handy tool for managing and sharing your contact information and saving resources.  I’ve begun using DropCard far more than my paper cards. This morning, I sent my contact info to a new client through DropCard, and he signed up for the service right away. So, I believe DropCard will be helpful to you, as well, and highly recommend it.

Mary
Instructional Solutions

You may publish a blog, or post a white paper, sales copy, product details, a newsletter or best practice tips on your company site. CopyScape is a free site that quickly runs a search for duplicate content from your site, offering an easy protection check for your content.

Enter your site URL on CopyScape, and you will see a list of sites that have similar text to your site. Of course, if a site has used your content, it should be linked and credit stated.

What steps should you take if you discover your writing has been used without credit to you or without permission?

1.  Contact the site.
Most sites list contact information, so a politely worded email is a good start: “I wish you well in your endeavor, but you need to find your own words to promote it.”  In nearly all situations, you will receive an embarrassed apology in response, and your material will be removed from the offending site immediately. If you received no response, proceed to step #2.

2.  Run a Who Is domain search, where you can find detailed contact information. Save this in case you need to escalate the issue. Email another much more firmly worded demand for the content to be removed, or call. I recently had a newsletter swiped and called the company and explained I was the author. That call resolved the issue right away, but if the offender stonewalls or refuses, move on to step #3.

3.  Notify the Site Host , alerting the web hosting company that the site contains plagiarized content, especially if the offending site is profiting from your work.

4.  Notify Site Advertisers, which cuts off the offending site’s revenue.

5.  Name (shame) them on your blog!
I don’t recommend this, unless your audience is a very narrow community, because flame wars generally help no one. State the site, link to it, and expose the offender. This is only effective when your audience knows with full certainty that the material was certainly yours originally.

6.  Legal Action
If all else fails. You can always start here, but I’d rather try to resolve it myself before incurring legal fees. And, I confess I’m territorial about my writing, so I want the opportunity to talk directly to the plagiarizer. Usually, it’s a learning lesson and ends well.

Steps 2 – 6 will very likely be unnecessary, because most content thieves apologize and remove the content when caught, but do protect your writing by occasionally checking your site on CopyScape.

Enjoy your writing, knowing credit stays with you.

Mary
Instructional Solutions