What made you fall in love with storytelling?

I’ve always been captivated by movies. The way they can tell a story, how they can take you on an emotional rollercoaster and journey with the characters in just about 2 hours. At first when I was younger, I thought I just liked movies because they were just that… movies. But as I’ve gotten older and started telling stories of my own, I’d say I credit my love for storytelling to those movies I watched growing up. I don’t really have any particular ones in mind (although I always loved the way Disney told their stories, and now I can see why). 

Nowadays when I watch a film, binge a show, or read a book, I love to look at it from a storytelling perspective. How do they introduce the characters? How do they hook the audience? And the last thing would be this: The more I tell stories, the more stories I want to tell. 

Do you think words are the most powerful weapon at our hands?

I would say words really are the most powerful weapon we have. All of us can think back to a time when someone said something that made us feel a certain way. Sad, happy, proud, upset… Whatever it made you feel, it made you feel that way for a reason. And I think that’s a powerful thing.

You can use words to persuade someone, alter their emotional state, change their perspective, or even change their life. Think back to the most famous speeches in history and how powerful an impact they had and still continue to have. The way you connect with others all starts with words and communication. Most things in life start with words and have the ability to create reality, as cheesy as that sounds. And if you ask me, that’s a powerful thing. 

How long did it take you to figure out what you want to do in life?

To be honest, I’m still figuring out what I want to do in life. I don’t think any of us really know what we’re doing. As a kid, you look at adults and think, “Wow, they have everything figured out.” But as you get older, you begin to realize even they are still trying to figure things out. 

But I’ll say this. Over the past few years I’ve begun to get closer to what I want in life. And I found that by exploring, experimenting, and creating things of my own. I never would have found my love for storytelling if I never started telling stories to begin with. And that’s the same for anything. You never know unless you try. 

So if I had to give advice to someone who doesn’t know what to do or what they want in life, I would say to explore and try as many new things as you can. Because eventually you’ll find something that sticks. Eventually you’ll find that thing that sets your soul on fire. The thing you can’t picture your life without. 

What’s the best part of your work for you?

I honestly think the best part of my work is seeing the impact it has on others. Getting positive comments and hearing how much my work resonates or impacts someone, there’s nothing quite like that. I’ll also say that writing online and creating content opened so many doors for me that weren’t previously there. I’ve met so many amazing people and made some great friends all from putting my work out there. 

So the two things I like the best about my work is the ability to connect with others I otherwise wouldn’t and the ability to make a lasting impact on others. 

What do you think is the secret to connection with clients and readers?

The secret that I’ve found is to just be yourself. And yes, I know that sounds super cliché but it’s true. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. I’ve found that the most enjoyable type of writing to write and read is the most conversational. As a writer, all you’re trying to do is have a conversation with one person. So just be yourself and don’t take it too seriously. Pretend you’re having a conversation with an old friend. 

I think another secret to connecting with others is being relatable. Think about it, it’s a lot easier to build trust with someone when you see they’re just like you. Whether they were in your exact situation or come from a similar background. 

Being relatable and being yourself are the two things that will get you farthest when you’re trying to connect with your reader. 

What helped you find your voice in writing and presenting yourself to the world?

Honestly, I think the best way to find your voice is to replicate other writers first. When you’re new and haven’t written too much, it can take a bit of time to find out what works for you. So I know when I was in that position, I studied other writers and kind of picked apart the things I liked about their writing and took note of the things I didn’t like. Do I like their shorter style of sentences? Check. Do I like the way they use huge, complex words? Nope. The more writing you read from others, the more you’ll start to see what elements you would want to include in your own writing. 

And then the other thing may be obvious… but in order to find my voice, I had to write a lot. Most of the time I didn’t publish it, but I just wrote to myself over and over again. Eventually, I started to get a feel for the type of writing I enjoyed. 

So those are the two main things I did to find my own voice. I read a lot of work from other writers and took note of the things I liked and didn’t like, and I wrote a lot.

Office vs Freelance: what’s closer to you?

I would say I’m more of a freelance-style writer. I don’t have much experience in an office. But I’ve been writing freelance and writing for myself for quite some time now. I think I work best when I’m alone and focused on my work, so freelance writing has been able to do that for me. 

Where do you look for inspiration in your work?

The main place I look for inspiration for my work is in the work of others. I can’t tell you how many ideas I’ve jotted down on my phone after seeing something on social media or the internet. We’re fortunate to live in a time when almost anything is accessible and anyone can share their ideas and creativity with the world. So I definitely take advantage of that. 

The other (often overlooked) place I find inspiration is in my own work. Many people think you have to come up with an original idea every time you create something. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve only recently started looking at my own work as inspiration, but it’s been a game-changer. Maybe I said something in a podcast that I want to expand upon in a blog article. Maybe I wrote a paragraph in an email that I want to turn into a video. Once you realize that inspiration is all around you, it becomes a lot easier to start creating. 

Do you have any advice for young freelancers and content creators?

The main advice I have is to just start. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. It may be scary at first or you may think others won’t care about what you have to say. But the truth is, we all have a story to tell. It’s just a matter of realizing your story is worth telling. 

So just start somewhere. Start small and eventually once you gain some confidence, work your way up. The hardest part is the first time you hit “publish.” After that, you realize it wasn’t so bad. So don’t be afraid to share your work and show your creativity. Because it can open more doors of opportunity than you ever thought possible. I know it did for me.

The post How To Find Your Writing Voice: A Talk with Connor Flynn, freelance writer and content creator appeared first on Linguix Blog.

When we look at the English language, it can be confusing and difficult at times. As it involves tricky spellings, tough grammar structures, and a variety of synonyms to deal with. A lot of words have the same meaning but it depends on the phrase, which is to use there. Either if you’re newly introduced to a language or you just want to improve your existing skills in English, expanding your vocabulary knowledge will help you a lot as an additional bonus. 

Improving your English vocabulary more effectively means learning to use the new words in a practical way, not just theoretically where you read a word; checked its meaning, and forgot it right away. However, if you have the will to understand English in a better way; the following ways can be highly helpful to improve your vocabulary. 

Reading – Your Choice: 

Reading can be a lot helpful while learning a new language. Reading is a very good activity; it helps the reader’s brain to be active. While many consider reading as an easy task as compared to writing. While it isn’t true, reading a book or journal can also be a difficult task if you don’t have much grip on your English vocabulary. But at the same time, reading complex and new words, and searching it’s meaning to understand the phrase properly is such a fascinating way to learn new words. While in the past, peoples used to suggest the reading of books; to improve vocabulary, but the actual trick is to read something you like that would help to boost your interest. Apart from books, comics, newspapers, journals, stories or anything can be your choice. If you continue to read regularly, you’ll notice a lot of significant improvement.

Writing – Journaling: 

I’m sure I’m not the first one to tell you that if you want to remember something for long; the best way is to write it again and again after understanding. Speaking new words isn’t that tricky, but using those same words with correct phrases and spellings in writing can be a little difficult. Try to write something you think is difficult to put into words and then ask someone to check your understanding of new words or try re-reading it. So, to improve English; learning and using new words in writing can help to improve a lot. 

Listening – English Songs or Lectures: 

Good listening skill isn’t much difficult to achieve, you just have to keep your brain focused and interested in listening. Listening helps to obtain information, understand it, and learn from it. Just like a child, who learns everything by listening to his surrounding, all the words, and sentences; before being able to read or write words. Similarly, after being all grown up you can still improve English by listening. When you hear a new sentence, try and repeat it afterward; it will help you to improve your pronunciation skills. So, listening to English songs, lectures, and talks can help a lot in improving vocabulary; you will easily learn how to pronounce and use new words. 

Watching – TV shows with subtitles: 

If you aren’t a book person, and you aren’t interested in reading long stories and boring book pages. Also, you’re facing difficulties in understanding English sentences after listening. Then, you should watch English movies or TV shows with subtitles tracks. This will surely fascinatingly help you by improving your English vocabulary through listening and readings at the same time. In this way, your reading and listening skills will improve and will surely help you to improve your English. 

Try speaking English with your fellows:

 You have heard the quote; “Practice makes a man perfect”. Similarly, to improve your vocabulary, you’ve to keep practicing what you’re learning. Try speaking in English with your mates. Don’t be shy, even if you’re having difficulties and might be using some wrong phrases. Still, stay confident and keep on trying all the time. You’re doing all the hard work to speak English fluently with improved vocabulary, not just for writing it down or to understand it. Good communication skills are of huge influence in practical life. Therefore, you should keep on trying to speak English with people who speak the same language as you.

Keep a dictionary: 

The sound of keeping a dictionary in your pocket or bag might sound a little old in this revolutionized world. While you don’t have to keep a hard one; you can simply download the dictionary application on your mobile phones. Having a dictionary to look up to is a quite helpful thing in the time of need. Dictionary can be the tool of great aid in all cases. Either if you have little knowledge of English or you have an advanced level of English. It offers thousands of words to look forward to, you can look up to different words along with their alternatives and you can pick according to your sentence. 

Guess the meaning of new words: 

Anything can be fun if you have the mindset to take things lightly and make learning more interesting. Guessing the right meaning of new words is just like a game of fluke, you can be either accurate or close to the actual meaning of the new word. The context helps a lot in understanding and guess the meaning of new worlds. The good thing about this practice is; it will get better with time. In the beginning, you might feel a little outplayed in guessing the right meaning, but with continuous practice and consistency, you will surely help yourself a lot to improve your English vocabulary.

Keep a Journal of new Vocabulary: 

To achieve anything, you’ve to be consistent and determined. Therefore, whenever you find a new word or phrase which you think is new to you and can be relevant, write it down in your vocabulary journal along with its meaning. This sounds pretty easy and is mighty helpful. Just in case, if you forget the new word after some days and are looking to remind it; this journal will be there to save the day. You can also keep reviewing your journal once a month to recall all.  

Test yourself: 

Stay focused and test yourself at times to determine either if there’s an improvement in your English vocabulary. Look forward to opportunities to learn and cash them. Pay attention to the things around you. Keep testing yourself, look forward to difficult and complex words and sentences, and then try to understand them. Try to look at the menu of the restaurant more carefully. Ask your fellows or teachers, to ask the meaning and synonyms of different words. Stay on the path to see and learn new vocabulary.

Stay Curious:

It’s human nature that under too much pressure and stress, the learning intensity goes down. It’s true that at times learning new things according to your goal in a short time can be a little stressful. Therefore, curiosity is a factor that can help you to stay in line and focused. Try to look forward to new vocabulary in different manners; the one you find interesting with a spirit of curiosity. This will help you to feel less stressed and more importantly, you might start to enjoy the process of learning. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, we can say that improving vocabulary skills is probably the most important step in learning a new language. All the other skills, like reading, speaking, writing, listening, and conversing depends on the vocabulary level of a person. With all these various methods and ways are there to help in growing your vocabulary skill; one can easily feel a lot of improvement after continuous practice. 

The post 10 Ways to Improve Your English Vocabulary appeared first on Linguix Blog.

Somewhere along the line, someone will need to be convinced why investment in writing actually matters. Here are just some of the reasons it does. And it really does.

Provide Consistent Quality in Your Teams’ Business Writing

Poor writing, whether a multitude of grammatical and spelling mistakes, or the wrong choice of words, reflects badly on your business. Poor content on your business site increases bounce rate (the number of visitors who leave your site immediately upon arrival).

In fact, a recent study revealed that a website littered with typos and other obvious written mistakes will immediately lose almost twice as many potential customers as a site free from errors. 

Likewise, blog articles, advertising copy of whatever it may be will fail to deliver if it contains the kinds of mistakes that a smart grammar and spell checking tool would easily take care of.

Provide Consistency in Your Business Message

The next step in providing quality content is to ensure you have a consistency in your business message. This isn’t just what you are selling, but how you are selling it. Does your business writing have an identifiable and consistent style that all of your team aim for? Have you even established what that is? And if you have, are you able to manage and measure that?

An inconsistent message in your teams’ business writing will only result in confusing potential customers. Then you’ll lose them.

An intuitive writing tool, such as Linguix Business, provides, in essence, a living style guide that adds consistency to your teams’ writing. Set the goals you wish to obtain from your writing and watch as the Linguix tool assesses written extracts to that level. That’s a smart business assistant.

Save Money by Automating Written Messages and Consistency

Did you know that office workers spend around 28% of the working day managing emails? That’s a significant amount of time, and is surely something any business would want to cut down on if possible. And it is.

Imagine being able to simply click to produce automated written snippets that have been previously produced to convey the exact message you are aiming for. Not only can this reduce on time spent typing, but also adds to consistency in message.

This is exactly what the Linguix snippets feature, which comes as part of Linguix Business, can provide. Simply allocate shortcodes to the text that you wish to save and reuse, and then the whole team can click to paste that text wherever required. With such a smart tool, save up to $18 per hour or $10,600 annually.

Improve Writing Quality Across Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service Channels

Using an intuitive writing tool to improve the quality and effectiveness of your teams’ writing adds value across the boards. From internal employee comms to external sales and marketing drives, better writing ensures better results.  

The last word here is that achieving consistency in writing quality across a team doesn’t need to involve a significant financial investment. Linguix Business is a writing tool designed, as the name would suggest, specifically for businesses. As well as ensuring consistent quality in your teams’ writing performance, you can also ensure consistency of message and style by configuring the insights and goals that you set in your teams’ writing.

As well as getting access to all the Linguix Premium features, such as grammar and spelling checks, vocabulary enhancement and synonym suggestions, personalized language learning features and a wide variety of writing templates, Linguix Business offers statistics and monitoring systems, integrations with established business tools and document storage space.

At as little as $10 per month per employee, and with 24-hour support, Linguix Business is an incredibly efficient and cost-effective means by which to attain consistent excellence in the quality and content of your teams’ writing. Who still needs convincing?

The post Why Good Writing Matters in Business, and How it Can Be Achieved appeared first on Linguix Blog.

Fortunately, in English, making comparisons is something that, grammatically speaking, is not only easy to do, but rarely departs from the rule (the irregulars don’t vastly outnumber the regulars, as is the case in many elements of English grammar).

Making positive comparisons

Positive comparisons can be made as follows:

But beware, because there are a handful or irregulars

good – better

bad – worse

far – further (farther is also possible, but is less-used)

To emphasize any difference, use the word ‘much’ plus the comparative form. Here are some examples:

This car is much faster than that car.

I am much happier than I have ever been.

People are much more intelligent than computers.  

Also note that you can make a positive comparative by substituting the word ‘more’ for ‘less’ to create the opposite meaning. This is still considered a positive comparative because the verb form (‘is’) is positive. Here are some examples:

People are less intelligent than computers.

That bicycle is less expensive than this one. 

Making negative comparatives

Comparatives can also be made in English by using a negative verb structure. Now the form of the comparative changes:

Negative verb form + as + adjective + as

Here are some examples:

This car isn’t as fast as that car.

I am not as happy as I was.

People are not as intelligent as computers.  

The positive comparison for equality

Then, there is a way of blending the positive and negative comparative forms to create equality, meaning that the two things are of the same level. Here is the structure:

positive verb + as + adjective + as.

And here are some examples:

This car is as fast as that car. (they are the same)

I am as happy as I have ever been. (my level of happiness is the same)

People are as intelligent as computers. (they are the same)

Superlatives

Once again, making superlatives (for when you are comparing three or more things) is relatively simple in English, and there are not too many irregulars:

But do be aware of these irregulars:

Good – the best

Bad – the worst

Far – the furthest (the farthest is also possible, but is less common)

The post How to Make Comparisons in English appeared first on Linguix Blog.

Here’s why you should, and how it can be done:

Linguix readability scores

Linguix offers a readability score to your written text that is within the content editor. You may have seen readability scores before on the likes of WordPress, but what exactly is Linguix’s readability score? How it is ascertained, and what does it mean for your writing?

It’s a simple premise. The readability score is a numerical score, measured from 0 to 100, and it is based on formulas known universally as the Flesch reading ease test. The Flesch test is a universally accepted scale for ascertaining the reading ease of a text, with a score of 100 representing a simple sentence with no words with more than two syllables.

Generally speaking, a Flesh readability score of between 60 and 70 is acceptable for web content, but then it depends on exactly what it is that you are writing.

And so, the Linguix readability score enables you to understand the complexity of your test, allowing you to tailor it for your audience as is required. This is a fundamental part of producing effective content, just as important as correct grammar and spelling, which Linguix’s writing assistant also proofs, offering guidance and suggestions as needed.

Selecting a writing goal on Linguix

Perhaps the most essential consideration when setting out on your text is the knowledge of who your audience is. In marketing, this is the golden rule: know your audience. And when it comes to producing an effective written context, the pretext is the same.

Selecting your goal on Linguix is fundamentally related to knowing your audience. First, you must select the knowledge base of your audience (so, for example, are they experts on the content, or not?). Once you have selected between the simple options, it next comes down to what is known in the language business as register, but what is identified by Linguix conveniently as formality. Here there are three simple options: informal, neutral and formal.

Your final option is your purpose. So, is this text for business, for leisure, for academic purposes, or for something else. Select accordingly.

Once you have chosen these options as desired, you have set your goals on Linguix. The text that you then enter is measured against these goals, and recommendations are made based on the results. Quite simply, in this way, you can ensure that the text you have produced is suitable for the audience and purpose for which it is intended. That’s how smart the Linguix writing tool is.

Linguix emotions

There’s one final, extremely useful step, and that all boils down to tone. What emotion do you wish to exude through your text? Is it supposed to be entertaining, funny, serious, friendly, or neutral? Again, depending on what you select, Linguix’s machine learning and AI-driven tool alert you to any inconsistencies that occur with your chosen emotion.

And that, as they say, is that. Not only will you be able to produce content that is free form grammatical and lexical errors, spelling mistakes and punctuation mishaps, but content that is actually highly suitable to the set requirements. That’s a smart tool.

Take the quality and suitability of your writing to a higher level with Linguix.

The post The Benefits of Setting Goals in the Linguix Editor, and How You Can Do It appeared first on Linguix Blog.

So, whether you are a new, junior office worker, or the head of the business, here are some practical tips to follow for writing good emails:

Start with the right salutation

Always bear in mind who you are writing your email to, who is your audience? Generally speaking, there are formal emails, and informal or casual emails, so select the right way to begin based on the type of email you are sending.

In a more formal email, ‘Dear’ is the classic start, whereas in something more casual you may choose to begin with ‘Hi’. Either way, make sure you start with the right tone, and that also goes for whether you choose to use first names or surnames.

In the vast majority of English-speaking countries, using first names, even in business, is common practice, so if you do choose to begin with a Mr. or Mrs., really make sure that it is appropriate.

Start with a clear, friendly, and polite opening line

It would be very unusual, even in more formal business emails, to get straight down to business, so your opening line should be something a little more personable, just to break the ice, as they say.

‘I hope this email finds you well.’

This is a classic and trusted opening sentence. And once again, it follows the golden rule of simplicity.

The main body

Now you get to your point, but in doing so, remember that English is a very indirect language, so launching immediately into the problem – if there is one – may be interpreted as being a little dramatic and aggressive.

Explain the point clearly, being careful to avoid overlong sentences (which breaks the rule of simplicity). Include all necessary information, but do not over-egg the pudding as is said in English (you do not need to repeat the point several times: once is sufficient).

The call to action

Here is the part of your email that makes it abundantly clear what you want the receiver to do with this information.

‘Please can you check the order and get back to me as soon as possible.’

This example is a clear indication of what you want the other person to do. You could even include the call to action before the main body of the text in which you explain the reasons for doing this. At all times just make sure that the flow of the email is logical.

Closing line

Now you prepare the person receiving the email for your sign-off. Try to be polite, succinct, and relevant to what you have asked the person to do in the call to action.

‘Your assistance in this matter is most appreciated.’

This example is clear, appreciative, and polite. Once again, keeping it simple is the best practice here.

The ending salutation

In the opening salutation we considered the formality of the email, so make sure that your sign-off matches that formality. As always, the classic, traditional sign-offs are best, for example:

‘Kind regards’

‘Warm regards’

‘With thanks’

There is very little reason to deviate from these tried-and-tested endings, unless you are really looking to make a particular impact, or emphasize your individuality. That’s something to think about.

And last, of all, think carefully if you are going to include your surname. Generally speaking, if you are sending the email externally, it would be the right approach to include your first and surname, but without any unnecessary titles such as ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’.

Important checks to make before you send your email

Of course, an email littered with spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes is not going to leave a good impression, even if it follows the structure as already laid out. Here are some of the classic mistakes to avoid.

Don’t make your email too long, or too short

Don’t write an essay as an email. Certainly don’t include long paragraphs that people don’t want to read. Avoid repeating yourself, and create short, concise sentences that are polite in nature.

At the same time, being too short can seem a little needlessly impolite, so strike the right balance here. Consider the person who is opening the email: does the length and presentation of that email leave them wanting to read it?

Proofread your email before you send it

This is basic advice, but it is incredible how many people hit that ‘send’ button before giving their email a second readthrough. Basic spell-check software can only help you so much, so it is advisable to use something a little more sophisticated, such as Linguix’s AI-powered writing assistant, that can help you identify grammatical mistakes and stylistic errors.

But at the same time. Re-read it before you send it. If it is a particularly important email, ask a colleague to read it first too, as sometimes a clean pair of eyes can make a difference.

And that’s it. It’s not rocket science, but it does need a clear strategy, a clean structure, and accuracy. Linguix offers a number of useful templates that you can utilize for your email writing, so come find out what is on offer.

The post How to Write Good Emails appeared first on Linguix Blog.

Now, of course, this is an impossible thing to guarantee, and so, is a hollow promise, but in marketing terms, it is what is called a Call to Action (CTA). CTAs are everywhere, particularly online, because nearly everyone wants you to buy something, like something, share something, sign up for something, and so on. CTAs are what achieve this.

What is a Call to Action (CTA)?

Quite simply, CTAs are the part of a marketer’s message that asks, or rather, persuade, you to do something. Usually, there is a trade: do this and you will get this! This is clear from the example at the top of the page. What do you have to do? Read the article. What will be the result? Happiness.

What is the value of Calls to Action (CTAs)?

In marketing circles, CTAs are integral to the sales approach, because CTAs are part of the process that turns leads into customers. In short, effective CTAs boost that all-important conversion rate, which can be defined as the number of leads who actually buy from you.

But CTAs are not all about selling. Or at least, they are not all geared at selling first up. The marketing route can be a little longer, so first, the marketer wants you to become part of the community (sign-up to our free newsletter) or begin a relationship with someone in the company (contact one of our team today). The sale might be the end reward, but CTAs can be seen regularly on this journey from initial interest to the sale.

Examples of Calls to Action (CTAs)

Here are some examples of classic CTAs, some of which have already been seen here:

·  Read this article to learn more

·  Sign up to our free newsletter to get the latest news and offers

·  Enter your email address to enter our free prize draw to win a great prize

·  Contact one of our dedicated team to learn more and see how you can benefit

In these four CTAs, you can see examples of the classic ‘exchange’ between the marketer and the potential customer (you). Each time there is a request for you to do something, and a reward is promised. It’s a simple premise, and unsurprisingly, it can be highly effective.

How can you produce great Calls to Action (CTAs)?

There are a few simple tricks which can be utilized to produce effective CTAs:

What does your audience want/need?

As always in sales, it relates back to what is a fundamental point for any marketer: what does your target customer want or need?

If you sell cars, then the simple answer to this question would be ‘a car’? But, of course, you need to have much more information than this. What kind of car, and what is the problem that the customer needs solving? Enough space to transport the family? Something economical that won’t break the bank? Something energy efficient? Once you understand in great detail who your audience is and what they really want, then you can write CTAs that really entice.

Keep the CTA simple

No one wants a complicated and ambiguous CTA. If the potential customer has to pause for one second to think, ‘what is in this for me?’, then you have failed. Make it clear what the ‘reward’ is.

Be persuasive, and original where possible

The average person will be bombarded with literally thousands of CTAs in a relatively short period of time, so why will they take notice of (and complete) yours when there are so many choices and noise? Originality works beautifully – stand out from the crowd. And be persuasive, which means using the right language (not being too pushy) and connecting to the very first point, which is understanding deeply what that potential customer wants or needs (and then making it clear how you can solve that want or need)!

Make the CTA simple

This is an obvious point, but another example of where CTAs regularly fall down. If you want someone to sign up for a newsletter, or similar, why give them a form with 20 fields to fill? The vast majority of people will take one look and think ‘no chance, I’m too busy for this’. So instead, ask for only three. If you need more, then don’t lay everything out in one go, but instead have steps to the activity which mask cleverly how much there actually is. This is a typical trick that savvy marketers employ.

And there it is – simple ways to turn your CTAs into effective conversion tools!

The post Writing Great CTAs (Calls to Action) appeared first on Linguix Blog.

“Send me the report by 5pm.”

Now, the problem with this sentence is that, by anyone’s standards in English, it’s impolite, if not plain rude. No ‘please’, no indirect way of asking for something. No. Something like this would be much better:

“Would it be possible for you to send me the report by 5pm if it is not too inconvenient for you. Many thanks in advance.”

Now, this one is a little extreme. It’s typically English, or perhaps even typically British, as the Brits like to go the long way around to saying what they really want, but the point is still valid.

How do we write something brief, in a work context, that does not sound impolite, but instead is impactful, but maintains harmony? It’s a challenge. Fortunately, there are some easy tips which can help you master this art.

Don’t forget the all-important magic words

It is generally accepted that there are five ‘magic’ words in English: ‘please’, ‘thank you’, ‘excuse me’, ‘pardon me’ and ‘sorry’. It is also generally accepted that any request should involve at least one of these ‘magic’ words. And adding one of these words is hardly going to turn your short email into an epic novel.

“Please send me the report by 5pm.”

Much better, but it may need more…

Be indirect

Now, this is an important thing to do, and will add words, but not many. How about this…

“Can you send me the report by 5pm, please?”

Note how there is now a question mark at the end of this sentence. Why? Because you have now made it an indirect question, which is about 100 times more polite that what came before, which was a demand. The true answer to this question is “Yes I can”, which of course is no confirmation that indeed you ‘will’, but that is how indirect questions work. Here are a few more examples:

“Could you send me the report by 5pm, please?”

“Would you be able to send me the report by 5pm, please?”

“Would it be possible to send me the report by 5pm, please?”

“Do you mind sending me the report by 5pm, please?”

Your email is starting to look a little longer now, of course, but infinitely more polite too.

Be individualistic

Now, who says you cannot inject a little bit of character into your email writing? Formal English can be so predictable, and is totally without any sort of color. So, add a part of your personality to proceedings by saying something that is just ‘you’.

“Could you send me the report by 5pm? You’re a star, thanks.”

No, the one thing to be said for this is that you need to be consistent in adding these little individualistic flourishes. If you never do it, and then do it once, it will seem weird. So, build it in as a regular part of your emails. It hardly adds any words, does it?!

Use first names

When writing emails, it is perfectly acceptable to use first names in a business context. Obviously, you have to gage the person you are writing to, so this involves a little bit of common sense, but including a first name in a request sounds so much more personable, polite, and communicative.

“Could you send me the report by 5pm, please John?”

Use emojis

Really? In a work context? Yes!

Believe it or not, emojis are now becoming increasingly acceptable at work. However, think carefully about the ones you use. Often just a smiley face will do the job, so don’t try to be too clever, and certainly don’t include too many emojis as this can be irritating. One smiley face really makes a request so much friendlier.

“Could you send me the report by 5pm, please John? You’re a star.”

Conclusion

And now we can compare:

“Send me the report by 5pm.”

“Could you send me the report by 5pm, please John? You’re a star.”

Which seems better to you? And you haven’t gone and written something as long as Game of Thrones either!

The post How to Write Shorter Emails That Are Still Polite appeared first on Linguix Blog.

But unlike playing a musical instrument, most of us have to write, particularly in the course of performing our daily tasks at work or college. It may be a simple email, or a slightly more complex document, or even social media posts as part of a marketing campaign: writing still crops up as a necessary skill for many of us.

The point is, most of us need to write, and most of us need to write better. So how can we do just that? Here are four easy tips you can implement to see you on the way to becoming a better writer.

There’s a time for writing, and a time for editing

If you don’t edit your work, you are making a huge mistake. In fact, you should proofread and then improve upon everything that you right the first time. However, it is also important that you first give yourself time to write before then pouring over every word and every sentence looking for errors and ways to make improvements. The point is that those of us who edit at the exact same time we are writing end up taking much too long to say what we want to say, and often we run out of impetus before we have even finished penning what we intended to put together.

This is the same process for writing a work email or putting together a novel. Write first, then edit after. The editing process will probably be more time-consuming than the original writing, but that’s okay. In fact, that’s good. Get your thoughts down first, and then when you’ve got to the end of the email, or the end of the first chapter, then start to evaluate everything and make changes as necessary. Even give yourself time between the writing and the editing to allow sufficient space between the two activities. If you edit immediately after every sentence you write, you’ll never get anywhere.

Stop tip-toing into it, and be clear 

In essence, the point here is that you should say what you want to say clearly and concisely. Too much of the other stuff – unnecessary introductions, unnecessary qualifying words such as ‘very’ and ‘really’, and too many adjectives – just takes away from what you are trying to say, and actually makes your writing harder to read, or at least a lot less interesting.

Consider if you could say what you have said using less words. Less is usually more in terms of writing. Start with your introduction: is it really necessary? This is certainly something that develops with practice. In short, cut the unessential ‘blah blah blah’.

Read to develop your writing tools

Reading informs your writing more than anything else. It is no coincidence that some of the best writers are or were voracious readers: these activities are not mutually exclusive. 

You don’t need to be reading a novel a night to improve, though. Reading anything helps, especially if it is relevant to what you are trying to achieve yourself. Read writing style guides and blogging tips to see what you can pick up and add to your writing arsenal. Certainly, from a vocabulary perspective, reading more will widen the number of words you have at your disposal, and will then better allow you to select the right word at the right time. And remember, simple words are very often best.

In short, reading will assist you develop all the tools you need to become a better writer yourself, from the way that sentences are structured, to the very words that you use. 

Linguix can help you to learn new words while reading online. When you encounter an unknown word anywhere on the web, just hold Alt and double click on it to see its definition:

Use a dictionary

It’s always advisable to be cautious when it comes to dictionaries. There are a very small number of people who actually enjoy ‘reading’ the dictionary. For most of us, it’s simply not a stimulating option. However, if you have a dictionary close at hand (and for the majority of people these days, that means an online version) you can then access it in certain circumstances. What circumstances?

First of all, a dictionary is useful if you don’t understand a word and you can’t understand it from context (always try ascertaining everything you can from the context in which the word is given, first). It’s a solution.

Secondly, a word may truly interest you, in that you can understand what it means, but it truly speaks to you, and you want it to become part of your active vocab toolkit. Looking it up in the dictionary will reinforce the word in your learning, and will also give you really important information about that word, including how to pronounce it. Remember, in English in particular, the words we see are not necessarily the words we say. How can you possibly know from the word quinoa that is it pronounced ‘keen-waa’? Paper dictionaries will give the phonetic spelling of the word, but an online dictionary will actually allow you to hear it. Listen, and repeat. It’s that simple.

And focus on the reader

What you write should not be about you, but about the person who is reading it. The best writers always think about things from the reader’s perspective. Can the reader follow your ideas logically? Did you just use that word for your own benefit, or for the reader’s? These little questions will help to deliver reader-focused writing, which is really what it’s all about.

The post How to Become a Better Writer appeared first on Linguix Blog.