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Numbered lists

Published 13 November, 2009 | By TashWord

I was recently asked about numbered lists so here is some information about them for everyone else, too!

Using a list can be a better way to present information than just using straight text all the time – it can simplify things for the reader, it is generally much easier as a quick reference and it can make the document more visually interesting than a page of text alone.

Adding numbers to a list (and although I use the word number, a numbered list may use roman numerals or letters instead of Arabic numbers) is usually reserved for when the order of the list is important or when reference to specific points is likely.

Clarity and consistency are the two keys to making a useful list. If the items in a list have further divisions, make sure those divisions are clear – or make multiple lists. Lists with divisions are generally referred to as outline lists, such as the following:

  1. prepare a draft
  2. edit the draft
    1. check spelling
    2. check grammar
    3. ensure everything makes sense
  3. get someone else to review the draft
  4. edit the draft
  5. finalise the draft
    1. add formatting
    2. check page breaks and similar details
    3. send to print

The sub divisions in this list are clear to the eye but would be much clearer overall if they used a different numbering system (for example, ‘add formatting’ would be a or i and ‘send to print’ would be c or iii.)

If there is only one item, it technically isn’t a list so a number isn’t required. A single item can either be incorporated into sentence form or just be listed with a bullet or em-dash. Adding a number to a single item is likely to confuse people as they look for subsequent points that don’t exist.

Keeping numbering clear and consistent is also critical for speakers, not just writers. I have attended a number of presentations where they start with clear points (E.g. “here are five ways to get website traffic. Number one is…”) but get sidetracked or forget the numbering and my notes are confused and/or disjointed as a result.

Do you have any further questions about numbered lists I might be able to help with?

Use your words, and numbers, wisely!

Posted in grammar & details, writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Give options that make sense

Published 4 November, 2009 | By TashWord

I have written before about the need to use clear questions in surveys to get meaningful results, and given some tips on how to write such questions. Every time I do a survey with poor questions I cringe – do they really not care about getting good results or just don’t understand that not everyone knows what they are really asking?

One of the most common questions I have seen in online surveys is the following:

Are you …

male
female?

Technically, the answer is yes  – I am male or female and so is every other human I know of! Fairly pointless question to ask unless you have a third group responding.

In this case, we can see what is really being asked (“which are you?”) and the available answers lead us to answering correctly, but it isn’t always so easy.

It was great recently to be asked to help a major research centre refine their questionnaire. They had determined the questions they wanted to ask but understood that how they asked was critical to the final result of their research.

So if you are preparing surveys or questionnaires, my two key tips are:

  • read the questions to make sure the options answer the question and suit your needs
  • get at least one other person to read the questions to ensure they make sense to a less involved pair of eyes

Use your words wisely!

Posted in bad writing examples, grammar & details, writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Backing up is a winner!

Published 29 October, 2009 | By TashWord

Yesterday, I listened to a webinar to announce the Smart Company web awards (I’m linking to their site but a it’s been down every time I’ve tried today, I apologise in advance if their site doesn’t show up.)

I don’t know much about most of the winners, although I intend to look at them to see what I can learn about effective websites, etc. However, I did recognise the winner of the ecommerce section.

Carbonite is a back up service to keep your computer files safe if something happens (something like a fire, a computer malfunction or even theft of your computer.) I’ve been using them for about 18 months and have recommended them a few times when people have asked about backing their files up.

I love the fact that I don’t have to remember to do anything – the files are automatically backed up for me regularly and I can even tell which files have been backed up in my file manager. I also like that I can access all copies that have been backed up – so if I want to go back to an older version of a document that I didn’t keep, I can access a previous back up and get the older file.

As for them as a winning ecommerce site, well I know I had no troubles subscribing or renewing so it is user friendly! I haven’t looked at them critically to agree or disagree with them winning this award, but I like their service – so congratulations Carbonite!

How do you manage your back ups? Do you have a written procedure for back ups, even if you use a service like Carbonite (so someone else knows how to access your files if you aren’t there and they are needed)? I know if l lost my computer files, it would cause a lot of stress and my business would suffer so I consider backing up a critical measure in business. And personally – I have my digital photos backed up off site, too.

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

One little letter…

Published 28 October, 2009 | By TashWord

One little letter can make a huge difference.

I have just come across an example of why it is critical to proof read everything before you publish it, and why attention to details such as spelling and grammar are important.

Actually, I first saw this site about 8 months ago and they still haven’t noticed or corrected it. I had forgotten it but for my amusement I’m glad it was still there!

In the header of every page of the site, they have used an a instead of u in their tagline. One little letter could be a simple typo, of course, but your tagline and header are the first things people notice! And in this case, it doesn’t look like a typo as it makes a real word which gives a VERY different meaning.

The tagline in the header is “Pass a drag test no sweat” which instantly brings to mind men dressing as women (testing to see if they are real drag queens is perhaps unusual but I guess we don’t want people pretending to be in drag?)

Elsewhere, they use the tagline “Pass a drug test no sweat” which related to the fact they sell “products is removing unwanted substances from your body and provides for quick detoxification of your organism.”

I’m not going to touch the rights and wrongs of passing drug tests this way, but it is clear that there is a huge difference between drag and drug.

So check your work carefully and don’t just rely on spell checks to get your work correct.

Use your words wisely!

Posted in bad writing examples, grammar & details | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Maximising topics

Published 21 October, 2009 | By TashWord

Last week, I aprticipated in Blog Action Day(BAD09) with over 13,000 other bloggers – we all posted on the topic of climate change in order to make everyone aware of this important topic.

While everyone wrote about climate change as the theme, there were many different angles covered – for example, I listed green decisions for my business to inspire other businesses to fight climate change and I read posts about conserving water, marketing, using local foods, some affects of climate change (affects on western society caused by direct climate changes) and things we can do to stop climate change.

This made me think about using a limited topic can provide many blog posts and/or articles – as well as about climate change of course!

Even if you limited yourself to business related aspects of climate change, there were many different ways you could have participated in BAD09. Here are just some of the business angles to show what I mean:

  • tips of how to reduce a business’ impact around the office
  • discussion of how manufacturing businesses can reduce their emissions
  • discussion of how business can contribute to the solution
  • opinions on carbon pricing and how it will impact small businesses
  • list some business ideas that will help the planet
  • low impact marketing ideas
  • how climate change has impacted on a particular business or industry – or is likely to in the next decade or half century
  • discussion on political and social factors affecting how a business can implement greener processes

So next time you are looking for something to write about to promote your business, look back at old or obvious topics within your business and see if there is a different angle you can discuss – there usually is!

Not only does discussing different angles give you more blog posts/articles, it also:

  • gives you the opportunity to share more of your expertise in a niche subject
  • lets people read about different aspects and therefore be more informed
  • gives people who may use your article (e.g. website owners and other bloggers) more choice about what angle of the topic to use and that increases the chances or your article being read
  • demonstrates your knowledge and that you have more than one dimension
  • enables you to link between posts more easily

Use your words wisely, and your topics thoroughly!

Posted in blogging, newsletter content, web content, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Clear titles

Published 19 October, 2009 | By TashWord

I recently read an article with a ridiculous heading. It claimed that the majority of Australians were victims of internet scams. As I have never been such a victim, I doubted the title and read the article (ok, so a ridiculous title did work in terms of getting a reader!)

What they really meant was most Australians have been exposed to internet scams, or had the opportunity to be taken in by such a scam. They then quoted that about 13% of people have actually been hurt by a scam.

Their title was misleading and dishonest really, and totally reduced their credibility in my eyes – I’m not planning on returning to their articles.

Titles and headings are important – they need to attract attention, set the topic for the article and work as part of your brand. In short pieces, the title also has to prove its worth in giving part of the message.

Use your words wisely, and honestly!

Posted in bad writing examples, writing | 2 Comments

Climate Change is a business concern too

Published 15 October, 2009 | By TashWord

Today is Blog Action Day, with over 6,000 bloggers writing about  climate change and its impact on our world, and on us.

Maybe climate change, and protecting our environment, is something you think of at home or when choosing to buy local or low packaging options. Many people act as if environmental concerns don’t apply at work or in business, but we all need to think and act sustainably all the time and in all sorts of situations.

As a small business owner, here are some of the things I take into account:

  • amongst other reasons, I work from home because it saves any energy or pollution from commuting to an office somewhere else AND I only have one set of base consumption (e.g. I don’t heat an office and somewhere for my baby; I only need one computer for business and personal use)
  • I choose to reuse paper by using the back of documents and envelopes instead of notepads
  • I buy recycled paper products for printing
  • I email invoices and statements to save paper and printing – the computer is already on so sending an email is close to environmentally neutral
  • I read news items and articles online rather than buying paper versions – and rarely print copies of them
  • I use email and phone calls as much as possible for communicating with clients – again, this saves using a car or plane for meeting face to face
  • I turn off my computer, printer, etc when I finish for the day, and turn off my screen whenever I leave my desk for a while
  • I close the curtains as soon as it starts getting dark and cold – keeping the heat inside saves heating
  • I choose practical promotional items rather than gimmicky things that use resources to make but provide no real value. So I would prefer a pen, notepad, water bottle or bookmark to a plastic bracelet, inflatable toy, flag or fan

I’m sure there’s more as I care about my environmental impact, but the list shows how easy it can be to include environmental ideas into everyday business. While we may not be able to reverse climate change, I think we can slow it down considerably by taking individual responsibility in the little things as well as the big things.

In Copenhagen next month, world leaders will be making some decisions and agreements about topics around climate change. I just hope that everyone starts working on those targets straight away rather than waiting until the deadlines.

What have you done/are you doing in your business to help our planet? What suggestions do you have for other businesses?

Posted in bit off track, business info & tools | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Capitalising job titles

Published 14 October, 2009 | By TashWord

A few months ago someone asked me (as a comment in a blog post) about capitalising the words in a job title.

My response, in summary, was that job titles don’t need to be capitalised although it is not technically wrong to do so. The exceptions being a title as part of a name (e.g. Doctor Jones) and someone in a key national role (e.g. Prime Minister, Treasurer).

I also noted that some companies list capital letters for extra words as part of their corporate style guide. Thus, we get companies writing about their Managing Director, Marketing Manager and Company when managing director, marketing manager and company would be perfectly acceptable and easier to read.

While I respect that each company can set their own brand, what annoys me is the inconsistency of such capitalisation. That is, most (maybe all!) of those companies would quite happily write about Jack the receptionist, Simone the cleaner and Justine the forklift driver while referring to Craig the Chairman and Mary the Operations Manager.

It annoys me because it is inconsistent (and therefore distracting and harder to read) but also because I find it disrespectful. Using capital letters is usually done as a sign of respect to the person in the job – does a receptionist, cleaner or forklift driver not deserve respect as well? And for anyone who says a Marketing Manager is more important than a receptionist, I ask if you could manage a busy switchboard or how you view companies you call where the receptionist doesn’t do a good job.

So, while I prefer to not use capitals for titles, if you do capitalise titles please be sure to capitalise them all.

Posted in bit off track, business info & tools, grammar & details | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Writing for the group

Published 19 September, 2009 | By TashWord

While individuals may be insoluble puzzles, in the aggregate they become mathematical certainties.
Sherlock Holmes

When writing to sell your business to people, you can’t be sure how any one individual will react to your words. However, you can write so that the majority of your audience (and by audience I mean people who are possibly going to buy from you, rather than the entire global population) will react the way you want them to.

This means it is important to remember that one negative response is not the end of your business, and may not be representative of everyone’s reaction. It also means that you need to use words and expressions that many people will understand, not just ones that a few people will relate to.

Writing for a group will bring better results than writing for one or two individuals – although writing as if to individuals is still effective and personal.

Posted in writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Roast carat or carrot?

Published 24 August, 2009 | By TashWord

Carrot: an orange coloured root vegetable from the parsley family and a good source of carotenoid nutrients including beta-carotene
Roast lamb isn’t the same without roast potatoes and carrots

Caret: a mark that indicates where text is to be inserted. In editing, it is ^ but on a computer screen it is usually >.
The fox jumped over ^log.

Carat (ct):a unit of weight used for gems and precious stones. It is a metric measurement based on 0.2 grams per carat.
A five carat opal weighs about one gram.

Karat (k): a measure of the purity of gold – pure gold being too soft for jewellery, it is mixed with other metals to make an alloy.
My necklace is 18k which means it contains 75% pure gold.

Telling them apart can be simplified. Carrot is the most commonly used version, and the only one likely to rot.

Caret is a very specific word that most people would rarely come across, especially as the word cursor is used more often in a computer sense.

As for carat and karat, carat refers to how much gemstone you have to carry (i.e. the weight) while a karat refers to the King’s gold!

Posted in Monday Meanings | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
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