Blog - Page 13 of 17 - Judy Gregory Writer

Involving listeners in a presentation

Presenters often use techniques that are intended to involve listeners in their presentation - including things like asking questions, encouraging listeners to talk about an issue to the person sitting next to them, or asking for a show of hands about listeners' opinionsSome presenters use these techniques successfully but, at times, they seem to fall flatI was listening to a presentation yesterday, and I found that the involvement techniques really didn't work for me As my mind wandered, I got...

Deciding how much detail to provide

I've been wondering this week about how communicators can ensure that they provide the right amount of information for their audience - the right amount of detail, presented in the right order, in a way that doesn't either overwhelm people with too much information or leave major gapsI've been reflecting on two situations where the information seemed to be lacking: in a consultation I had with a doctor, and in a recruitment letter for a research projectThe consultation was with a...

Which direction?

Here's a sign that's guaranteed to either confuse or get you thinking:Presumably, you follow the direction of the road (to the right), turn first left, turn left again, and then turn right But is that what the sign says Do the three right-facing arrows simply mean that you follow the road to the right before taking the first turn left Is it confusing to write 'first left' while giving the visual signal to go straight to the right Are you supposed to follow these instructions in sequence to lead...

Alignment as a design tool

I was reminded this morning just how important alignment is as a design tool - as a way of making design elements look as though they belong together (and communicate the same message)I was at Hoyts - watching the endless pre-session ads before being captured by Puss in Boots (one of the joys of this school holidays!) Every time the Hoyts logo appeared on the screen, it bothered me The logo is the Hoyts name, with little red boxes on the left, and the URL printed underneath with a little open...

Editing difficulties caused by layout

I've been sidetracked this holiday season with a few editing projects - all interesting documents that I couldn't say no to I often think that my working time is privileged - I get to read and think about fascinating topics, work on documents that are written with some social justice purpose, and help the authors find ways to make the work easier to read (And yes, I recognise that this sounds kind of cheesy, but it really is the way I feel about my work)But over the last few weeks...

Holiday chuckle

Sometimes, in the calm of holiday reading, you come across something that makes you chuckle Like this error in the latest edition of InStyle:Whoops!There's nothing quite like that feeling of flicking through a newly-printed publication (always the result of hard work) and noticing a stupid error We've all been...

Learning about agreement

There tends to be a fair bit of eye-rolling at my house when I can't keep my mouth shut about sentence structure - particularly when I notice things in books like agreement, convoluted sentences, and typosThe most dramatic eye-rolling is reserved for my frequent comment 'If Luke wasn't in that sentence, would you say "I" or "me"' I also get complaints when I'm reading aloud if I interrupt the story with comments about the way that the sentences are written The biggest...

Avoiding euphemism

I noticed this sign last week, in the breakfast room of a small hotel:I couldn't help but wonder what hygiene regulations might apply here Is the hotel reception, which is right next to the breakfast room, somehow an inappropriate place to have food Will the food either become contaminated or contaminate something elseOf course, the real meaning is fairly obvious: don't eat breakfast here and then load yourself up with a second breakfast to eat later Or, to put it another way, don't be...

Troublesome agreement with collective nouns

Last week, my 6-year-old son brought home a short reader from the Flying Start to Literacy series It was an excellent book about Driver Ants, which left us both very thankful that we don't have Driver Ants in Australia It even included a Glossary But the definition of 'habitat' got me all tied up about the difficulties of creating agreement when using collective nounsThe book says: 'Habitat: the place in which a group of animals live and find food' I'd much prefer to write 'a group of animals...