Tag Archives: reader-centricity

Do Your Emails Suck?

By Phil Stella | Published: February 12, 2022

Your routine workplace emails might suck if you ignore the reality that every note you send a customer, colleague or manager can project your image of professionalism, competency and courtesy — or detract from it. So, if you don’t want your emails to suck, just avoid these worst practices:

  • Not asking if everyone on a large distribution list really needs or wants to see this message. 
  • Retaining long strings of email addresses that precede your actual message.
  • Using an ineffective subject line like ‘Report’ or, even worse, ‘no subject’ Read More »

WordPower – Always Break the Rules!

By Phil Stella | Published: April 1, 2019

This month, ‘WordPower’ feature deals with some rules of grammar and which ones you should consider breaking if you want to enhance your routine workplace writing. Read More »

Communicating Effectively with Millennials

By Phil Stella | Published: April 11, 2018

(This article originally appeared in the popular Small Business Expert Forum published by   Nationally known PR expert Carol Roth. I’m was thrilled to have the opportunity to promote these concepts in such a respected vehicle.)

While millennials have some generation-specific communication preferences, they have a lot more in common with other generations than differences, except for their use of technology. If communicating with them in your workplace presents a challenge, here are five ways to resonate with your 30-somethings readers. Read More »

Give Your Readers a Break

By Phil Stella | Published: November 1, 2017

A very effective Reader-Centric strategy for your workplace writing is to make it very easy for your readers to read, understand and act on what you write.

One way to achieve these results is to use more white space to make your emails and documents easier to understand and use. This is especially helpful when they’re reading on their phones … and, soon, on their watches. Read More »

Clean Up Your Act

By Phil Stella | Published: November 1, 2015

How often do you forward an email or reply to one? If your business is anything like mine – lots of times every day. So, it’s probably time for you to consider cleaning up your act. Your email act, that is. Read More »

Give Your Readers a Break

By Phil Stella | Published: October 7, 2014

A very effective Reader-Centric strategy for your workplace writing is to make it very easy for your readers to read, understand and act on what you write. One way to achieve these results is to use more white space to make your emails and other documents easier to understand and use. This is especially helpful when they’re reading on their phones … and, soon, on their watches.
Read More »

Choose Your Words Wisely!

By Phil Stella | Published: November 1, 2012

The words you use in routine workplace writing, interactions and presentations do make a difference. They can impact your results, professionalism and image as a receiver-centric communicator. Or, your words can detract from those results. So, choose your words wisely!

To help you on this journey, enjoy this summary of 12 Best Practices or ‘Recurring Themes’ I typically share in my training or coaching engagements. I don’t ask participants to change any of their word use or style habits. But, I often ask them to challenge those habits themselves in light of what we discuss. If they decide to change any of them, that’s fine. If not, that’s fine, too.

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Sexless Writing

By Phil Stella | Published: October 3, 2012

Here we go again … trashing more time-honored rules of grammar that may have made sense in your grandparents’ workplaces … but probably not in yours any more. Hope you’re having as much fun as I am getting back at your high school English teachers who beat those rules into you … often with a yard stick. I know I am. So, please allow me one of my favorite WordPower rants – sexist language.

Inaccurate & Insensitive

For generations, this sentence would have been considered perfectly acceptable and appropriate in the workplace, typically in employee handbooks or procedure manuals:

        ‘The employee should report for work at the beginning of his assigned shift.’

Over thirty years ago, the inequity of that kind of phrase so bothered the leaders of the Women’s Movement, that they got people to do something about it. After all, not all employees were male then and the inference was both inaccurate and insensitive.

Read More »