Blog - Page 5 of 17 - Judy Gregory Writer

Prison or jail? Being consistent with names

One of the things I often discuss in writing training is the need to be consistent with naming Whatever name you choose for something at the beginning of the document should be used consistently throughout, so that readers can be sure you’re referring to the same thing If you’re writing about a review, for example, it’s called ‘a review’ throughout the document; you don’t start referring to it as ‘an evaluation’, ‘a plan’ or ‘a process’ Here’s an example I heard on...

Make deposits in the credibility account

As a consultant, I’m conscious of the need to establish and maintain credibility I need to persuade clients that I understand my craft, know how to meet their needs, and provide a service that’s worth the fees I charge In turn, each organisation and consultant I encounter needs to establish their credibility with me I find it increasingly useful to visualise credibility as something like a bank account I hold credibility accounts with my clients and the various people I work with It’s my...

The premise of Background Briefing: Fibre to the premises is unlikely

I enjoyed the Background Briefing report this morning on the history and status of the NBN (ABC Radio National) But, no matter how many times I shouted at the radio, the presenter and his various interviewees (including people in senior positions at NBN Co) continued to discuss issues around connecting fibre/copper to the 'premise' So, at the risk of being irritating with my repetition, here's the relevant definition: Premise: a previous statement from which another is inferred; an...

Finding the right training venue: Flexibility is the key

I spend a lot of my time working in training and function venues Over the years, I’ve developed an extensive list of my likes and dislikes For me, flexibility is the key priority I like to be able to set up the room in a way that suits my needs Sometimes, I like to change the room as the day progresses My venue-preference list looks something like this: Rectangular table that can be arranged in either a U-shape or in groups (rectangular tables are better than round troubles when...

Simplifying ASKO’s complex instructions

This week I've had the great joy of learning to use new kitchen appliances (I’ve waited a long time for this new kitchen) Mixed with the pleasure of having appliances that are new and clean comes the challenge of re-learning things that are almost automatic I've spent a week referring to manuals as I try to understand the simplest things At the moment, I can't imagine that I'll ever remember how to set the timer or choose the right cooking program Instruction manuals have a bad reputation:...

Sentences need to make internal sense

Writing sentences that make internal sense - with content that connects across a sentence's various parts - is an easily missed editing task Here's a sentence written by my son's school this week:'If successful in the preliminary round, the state final will be held at Griffith University on Saturday 14 November'The problem in this sentence relates to content agreement: it's about two different things And while I understand what the author means, I have to work to get there What they've...

Is PR really dead?

I’ve recently been reading a book called ‘Trust me, PR is dead’ by Robert Phillips, which I bought on the basis of its title at the Hay Festival earlier this year (and if you think that perhaps I included that phrase simply to gloat about being at Hay, you’d be right) Phillips is a former CEO of the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) division of Edelman, one of the world’s largest PR agencies He ‘saw the light’, realised that PR was dying, resigned from Edelman, and...

Short messages for fast times

I’ve recently finished Roy Peter Clark’s book ‘How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times’ It’s full of practical advice on ways to write compelling messages with few words Clark provides tools and practical exercises to help writers develop their short writing skills He encourages us to examine how successful short writing works, name and practise its strategies, then adapt the strategies for our own purpose and voice I appreciated the way that Clark recognises the history of...

‘ise’ or ‘ice’? The difficulties of spelling ‘practice’

Many Australians struggle to spell 'practice' and 'practise', and often just guess and hope for the best ('licence' and 'license' fall into the same category)Being told that 'practice' is a noun while 'practise' is a verb isn't very helpful, as many Australians don't have a working understanding of nouns and verbs Our confusion is compounded by the American spelling and our increasing exposure to US-produced publications Historically, school wasn't much help (my school...