When I was small, I thought "putting my face on" was my aunt's term for applying makeup. What I didn't understand was the role that morning ritual played in helping my aunt prepare her private self for public consumption; putting her face on meant she was moving through familiar steps to create a space between … Continue reading Putting your Face on, Rhetorically Speaking
Tag: audience
When to Break the Rules
Most of the time, I actively work against my impulse to correct every language mistake I see in public because I don't work for free Most English grammar rules are contextual at best And rooted in oppressive power structures at worst It's just really annoying and usually not welcome enough to be helpful I am … Continue reading When to Break the Rules
How Did I Fool the News?
While some outlets did immediately clock satire, several others ran the story without even a careful close read. Satire is an especially tricky kind of writing, sure, but it also highlights an essential truth: sometimes the hardest part of writing is nailing the genre expectations, and sometimes nailing the genre expectations is how we produce … Continue reading How Did I Fool the News?
Ding Ding
Most of us know we'll lose readers with a single big block of undifferentiated text: one of the many reasons legalese is so hard to sift through. Fewer of us know that we're just as likely to lose readers with rapid-fire single sentences featuring repeated double line breaks and strategic emoji: think those obnoxious marketing … Continue reading Ding Ding
Ersatz Excitement
Last week, I fooled the news. Like a lot of other campuses in the US, my alma mater has been making a lot of highly public missteps, earning them the moniker of Homeless Student University--among other things. National news attention and public outcry has not stopped the university from continuing to focus on enrollment numbers … Continue reading Ersatz Excitement
Bios are Risky Business
Jenny knows what she's doing: she trains large business teams to write, and has recently put out a book full of her favorite business writing tips (read it! your writing will improve). She's comfortable doing it: seems like she writes books in the time it takes me to do my taxes. But. Sometimes the words … Continue reading Bios are Risky Business
Break it Up Already
This morning, I attended a presentation by a verified expert. He'd crammed so much useful information onto each slide that I was squinting from the second row (and I know my contacts are up to date). As I struggled to make out the small words on the wall-sized screen and pay attention to the additional … Continue reading Break it Up Already
A clear call to action
You've put all this effort into building your brand. You have a clear sense of what you have to offer customers. But do they? Writing, especially for our customer-facing materials, is all about convincing our audience--it's an argument for further engagement, for the worth of our services or products. And if there's one thing I've … Continue reading A clear call to action
Something Polished 