sticky notes

Sticky Notes to the Rescue

Currently I’m facilitating an eight-week Business Writing Specialty Certificate Course for the CAPstone program through IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals).

During Week Four’s session on weeding out wasted words, one of the participants sent
me this sticky note reminder she now uses as she composes and edits her emails. Sticky
notes to the rescue!

What about you? Do you have sticky notes pasted prominently around your work area?
Please take a photo and share it with us here. We all need reminders—and I can’t wait to
see some of the notes you write to yourself.

 

To customize a keynote or professional development session that will have your audience laughing and learning, contact Mandi Stanley.

Certified Speaking Professional Mandi Stanley works with business leaders who want to boost their professional image by becoming better speakers and writers through interactive high-content keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, technical writing seminars, and fun proofreading classes. 

You might also like:

Prefer Performance to Chronology in Your Résumé

It’s Interview Time: What’s the One Detail Most Interviewees Forget?

Wacky Word of the Week: Purge this Particular Word

advice for graduates

Advice for Graduates: How To Address an Envelope

Following last week’s post regarding RSVPs, a number of parents responded with a request to address “addressing” envelopes. Graduates are mailing graduation announcements and invitations and thank-you notes, so I hope you’ll find this practical advice helpful.

Read more

How to Be a Better Writer

How to Be a Better Writer: Use a Particular Pair of Scissors

Want to learn how to be a better writer? Use a particular pair of scissors

Truman Capote:

“I believe more in scissors than I do the pencil.”

 

Recently I drew inspiration from a few tips listed in an old newspaper column—because they stepped on my toes. One tip was: “Challenge every word.”

 

When I read that one, I instantly was reminded of a writing lesson learned the hard way. Twenty years ago, I was presenting a Grammar-for-Grownups workshop in Portland, Maine. A man approached me at the first break and said, “Mrs. Stanley, do you realize you’ve said the word particular seven times already this morning?” 

 

Apparently, he had been counting. 

 

He explained, “The word particular is what we consider to be a wasted word in the English language because it adds no value or meaning or clarification to any sentence.” I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to his observation. It was 20 years ago and much earlier in my career. (I was much younger, period.) So, I smiled and simply said, “Thank you for sharing.” I didn’t know what else to say in the moment. But, when I had a chance to process our conversation after the class, I realized he was correct. I had a habit of saying:

 

On this particular page

In this particular example

On this particular slide

For this particular exercise

 

I DID say particular too much. He made me painfully aware of it, so as a result of our conversation, I have purged that particular word from my presentations and my writing. He taught me to challenge the word particular.

 

Certified Speaking Professional Mandi Stanley works with business leaders who want to boost their professional image by becoming better speakers and writers through interactive high-content keynotes, breakout sessions, workshops, technical writing seminars, and fun proofreading classes. 

You might also like:

Prefer Performance to Chronology in Your Résumé

It’s Interview Time: What’s the One Detail Most Interviewees Forget?

Wacky Word of the Week: Purge this Particular Word

This Is NOT My “First Annual” Blog Post of the Year

Is it ever okay to refer to something as being the first annual meeting? Read more

What If My Name Already Ends With An “S”?

This is a popular topic this time of year, so thank you to everyone who wrote in asking some version of this question: How do I make my family’s last name plural on greeting cards? Read more

How Do I Make My Family’s Last Name Plural on Greeting Cards?

Quick question: With which names should you use the apostrophe? Choose the correct version. Read more

Grammar Grappler #30: Combine Together the Following Ingredients

Following graduation from Mississippi State University, I moved back to my hometown and worked that summer and fall at my hometown newspaper. One of the most fun projects I contributed to during that time was the Thanksgiving recipe publication. Read more

Grammar Grappler #24: Why Sign it “Sincerely”?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a guideline on how to capitalize complimentary closes for business letters and emails. When your complimentary close is more than one word, you don’t capitalize the second word. For instance: Read more

Grammar Grappler #22: Sincerely yours or Sincerely Yours

This week’s post is a quick read, but we’re using our summer theme of “Grammar Grapplers” to answer readers’ questions. Recently, I’ve received a couple of versions of this question. What do you think? Please choose the correct response. Read more

Announcing Grammar Grapplers

We’re launching a new blog series this week: Grammar Grapplers. The reason I have been eagerly anticipating this new series? These questions have come directly from you. For six months, I have been collecting questions from our community of readers, and today we publish the first response. Read more