Scott Flood - Scott Flood Writing

GRAMMAR IS WITHOUT RULES

January 30, 2013 by Scott Flood

Did that headline stop you? Of course grammar is full of rules, isn’t it? Your seventh-grade English teacher tried her best to drum all those rules into your head. You remember all that red ink on your brilliant essays.

Hate to burst your bubble, but there is no set of definitive grammar rules. When Moses lugged those tablets back down the mountain, he didn’t carry a copy of the Chicago Manual or the AP Stylebook with him. I wish that had been the case, because it would have been a lot easier on those of us who write for a living.

HIT AND RUN MARKETING

January 23, 2013 by Scott Flood

Not long ago, a non-profit organization asked me to come in and perform a bit of tinkering. They had existing materials, such as a website and brochures, but they were fed up with the way things were going. They wanted me to come up with words to describe what they were all about so they could determine the next steps.

I refused to help.

ARE THEY DEFIANT? DEFINITELY!

January 16, 2013 by Scott Flood

One of the most commonly misspelled words these days — particularly in the social media universe — is definite and its related forms.

Folks who mean to tell you that their agreement is definite will instead write that they are defiant. To demonstrate their agreement with the political stance you’ve expressed in your post, they’ll comment “Defiantly!” And since their trust spellchecker won’t tell them otherwise, they’ll assume they’re correct.

MORE GAFFES AND LAUGHS

January 9, 2013 by Scott Flood

Time to take another look at mistakes that wound up in print. Sometimes, I’m tempted to include gems from the Internet, but I don’t think it’s fair to poke fun at everyday folks, especially when they might be posting to Facebook from one of those smartphones with a touch-screen keyboard so small that it’s nearly impossible to get it right.

Professionals who should know better, on the other hand …

CONTRACT LANGUAGE DETRACTS

December 19, 2012 by Scott Flood

One of the ways many people try to make their business writing sound more impressive is to try to make it a bit lawyerly. The legal community has long had a unique style and syntax that’s meant to create clarity, but that is often far more effective at obfuscating the meaning. I suspect it may be an attempt to ensure the ongoing demand for the profession, because one generally needs to hire an attorney to understand something another attorney has written.

But I’m not here to offend attorneys (nor to incur their wrath). I’m here to help companies and other organizations communicate more clearly, and one way they can do that is to stop trying to write like attorneys.

YOU WANT A BETTER WORD?

December 5, 2012 by Scott Flood

When FDR spoke about freedom from want in his 1941 State of the Union address, he was talking about the concept, not the word itself. However, I’ve noticed that many people — particularly in the business world — have a very real aversion to “want” and an apparent need to be free from it.

I’m not sure why people are afraid of such a simple word. My only guess is that they’re focused on its more negative contexts, or that they find it too simple and folksy to serve intelligent readers. In most cases, though, it’s the ideal verb for the situation.

CAPITALIZATION DOESN’T MAKE THINGS MORE IMPORTANT

November 28, 2012 by Scott Flood

There’s an interesting quirk that shows up when many companies or organizations develop content of all types. They capitalize words that have no business being capitalized. Or, to put it differently, They capitalize Words that don’t really need to have Capital letters.

I suspect the reason they do that is that they think the use of capital letters make the words seem more Important or Impressive.

START AT THE HEART

November 21, 2012 by Scott Flood

Having trouble developing your message? Suffering from a case of what some people call writer’s block? There’s a very simple technique that can help you get started.

All you have to do is identify the main message you want to convey to your audience. Don’t worry about finding the exact words or the best way to say it — just type that main message that’s at the heart of what you want to get across.

DON’T BOTHER TRYING TO HIDE ELEPHANTS

November 14, 2012 by Scott Flood

You’re probably familiar with the phrase “elephant in the room.” In the unlikely event you’re not, it refers to a difficult topic about which everyone is painfully aware, but that is so uncomfortable that nobody is willing to mention it publicly. It’s like the flask Aunt Sadie carries in her purse — everyone has seen it, but nobody will ever admit to that.

Companies and organizations are often vexed by their own elephants. Maybe it’s a deficiency in a product. Maybe it’s an advantage a competitor has. Maybe it’s a past mistake or a scandal that left a stain on the organization’s image.

MORE EVIDENCE MAIL STILL WORKS

November 7, 2012 by Scott Flood

If you’re not a history buff, you may not be familiar with the Maginot Line. After being battered by Germany during the First World War, and nervous about a second invasion, France decided to protect itself by building an amazing “wall” of defensive artillery along the Franco-German border. They put all their faith in this technological marvel, knowing that Germany could not plow through it. And the Germans couldn’t, so they simply went around it on their trip to Paris during WWII.

Many marketers approach media the same way. They decide to place all their eggs in that proverbial basket, which can be effective as long as the basket isn’t flawed or dropped. Facing higher postage costs and the many advantages of email and other newer marketing options, many marketers raced away from direct mail.