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Talking shift

Hot off the press: our thoughts on what's happening in the world of brand language and business writing. Warning: may contain the occasional rant.

Writing tips

Why is ‘why’ so powerful?

Google’s Year in Search 2020 video is all about asking ‘why’. From ‘why is it called covid-19’ to ‘why are people protesting’ to ‘why is Mars red’. (Be warned, it’s an emotional watch.)

Writing, Learning & development

Diversity and Inclusion

Insensitive crisis comms, corrected

We’ve all come across them during “these uncertain times” – tone-deaf, cliché, or generally unhelpful Covid communications.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Diversity and Inclusion

Part 3: keeping everyone on-message

You’ve put out your statement around Black Lives Matter on social media. You’ve added a banner on your website, explaining what you’re doing to support the movement. Job done, right?

Training, Customer experience

Diversity and Inclusion

Part 2: say it with conviction

If your biggest fear about reactive messages is sounding inauthentic, don’t just pay attention to what you say. Pay attention to how you say it. Certain words, clichés or types of language signal to readers that you’re not being genuine. Here’s how to keep it real.

Training, Customer experience

Diversity and Inclusion

Part 1: Get your story straight

Brands needing to react to the news is nothing new. But between a global pandemic and the growth of the #Black Lives Matter movement, 2020 has made topical messaging pretty much a full-time job for marketing departments.

Training, Customer experience

Writing tips

The science of emails #3: know the feeling you want to get across

More than any other type of comms, emails run the risk of coming across the wrong way. And when it comes to communicating about coronavirus, the particular words we choose matter more than ever.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Writing tips

The science of emails #2: get over yourself

More than any other type of comms, emails run the risk of coming across the wrong way. And when it comes to communicating about coronavirus, the particular words we choose matter more than ever.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Writing tips

The science of emails #1: write adult-to-adult

More than any other type of comms, emails run the risk of coming across the wrong way. And when it comes to communicating about coronavirus, the particular words we choose matter more than ever.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Writing tips

Woolly words won’t beat coronavirus

We’ll keep this brief. Firstly because other writers, Tweeters and politicians have already noted it, and secondly because we’ve covered this topic before. (It’s kind of our thing.) But one last time: if you want someone to do something, please make it clear.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Training

When business is on hold, learning doesn’t have to be

You might already have had to change up how you work over the last couple of weeks. But even if you haven’t yet, there’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is having a huge effect on businesses.

Training, Learning & development

Culture

Wading in on why play has a place in workshops

On BBC Radio 2, Jeremy Vine was talking about a workshop where a group from Walsall Council were asked to use Lego in an activity. The participants weren’t happy and the workshop was being mocked online.

Consulting, Learning & development

Writing tips

A theory of funny

Here’s my theory: In life, things can be one-beat, two-beat or three-beat funny. And you have to pick the right number of beats for your message, audience, and how long you have their attention for.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Writing tips

Our job spec dos and don’ts, inspired by Dominic Cummings

When Dominic Cummings, chief aide to the Prime Minister, posted job ads on his blog recently, it caused quite a stir.

Writing, Learning & development

Culture

The Writer’s 2019 round-up

We do like a writing geek out. (If we didn’t, we’d have to think about putting our name out to tender.) And we don’t discriminate. Ads, road signs, mum’s to-do list – if it gets us talking, it’s going in our bank of favourites.

Writing, HR & internal comms

Diversity and Inclusion

The brands ripping up the political playbook

Religion and politics. Not just the two things you don’t talk about at the dinner table, but also two things that most brands have steered clear of in the past. Or, if they did go there, they’d stick to gentle jibes or statements so general they couldn’t offend anyone.

Writing, Brand & marketing

Tone of voice

An authorly common buzzword

We’ve been thinking about ‘storytelling’. It’s an idea you hear about a lot, but if we’re all going to use the S word, it makes sense to be clear on what it means. Here are three distinct types of storytelling, for a start.

Consulting, Learning & development

Culture

Netflix can chill: it’s National Book Lovers Day

Nowadays, our beloved books too often play second fiddle to a binge on Prime or a Killing Eve marathon. Here’s a reason for us to ditch The Crown and cosy up with a good old fashioned novel this evening.

Writing, Customer experience

Culture

Bots are from Mars, humans are from Venus.

Remember the days of buying cinema tickets over the phone? Wasted minutes bellowing ‘Jumanji… JU-MAN-JI’ into your landline as the disembodied voice on the other end says ‘Sorry, I didn’t get that. Did you say Batman Forever?’ Thankfully, voice assistants have come a long way since then.

Writing, Customer experience

Customer Experience

Microsoft’s writing tool: friend or foe?

Microsoft has announced that Word is getting an injection of Artificial Intelligence. And if the comments on the BBC article are anything to go by, we should all be worried.

Writing, Learning & development

Culture

Our favourite words of 1980: the ultimate Throwback Thursday

Gossamer. The UK’s third favourite word, as of 21st September 1980. How do I know that? Well, a while back I bought a copy of The King’s English for 50p at a secondhand bookshop and today, out fluttered a newspaper cutting. And it was all about words. Beautiful words.

Writing, Brand & marketing