I’ve dedicated 16 years of my adult life to becoming a better writer – of course I give a monkey’s about what AI might mean to my livelihood. A very large monkey’s, in fact.
With one eye closed, my mouse hovering over the ‘close window’ button, and knowing I’ve enough fuel in the van to reach the coast, I’ve explored a few articles on the matter. So far, I’m still sitting here. So far, I’m not overly frightened. But equally, I’m not daft or dismissive enough to ignore AI’s potential to transform how, collectively, we go about our business of persuasive written communication.
I’ve been reading ‘Do I Make Myself Clear’- Why Writing Well Matters’ by (Sir) Harold Evans (28 June 1928 – 23 September 2020). In some ways I wish I’d read it earlier in my career as a copywriter, but I think it might have been too much to take in while relatively green. Now, it’s more of an acerbic, witty reassurance that my internal dialogue when reading or editing godawful guff isn’t just grumpiness – and that my instinct is dependable.
He also reminds me that there’s a time and a place to be right about this: always and everywhere. But not necessarily out loud. Read More
People tend to assume, understandably, that the hierarchy of deciding factors in choosing to invest in a product or service is something along these lines:
1 Cost
2 Quality/suitability
3 The people behind it all
But it isn’t. Read More
So it seems we’ve lost the war against ‘I was sat’.
And ‘I was stood’.
And others.
Sadly, these simple and needless atrocities feature daily in my conversations, and in my consumption of media. I’m not being a pedantic git – at least I don’t think I am. I genuinely think it’s a real shame, because it sounds daft and lazy. And that’s not what you want. At least I hope it isn’t.
Yet every day I hear it. And see it. For whatever reason, it’s common parlance. Even among those I know have a better grasp of the language.
Something stole our grasp of past participles.
In remembrance, here’s how they once went:
I sit; I am sitting. I sat; I was sitting.
I stand; I am standing. I stood; I was standing.
I was NOT sat.
I was NOT stood.
Nor was I ate a cake. Nor was I listened to music. Nor was I brushed my hair.
I was not fed the cat.
Yeah, it’s that simple. It’s probably too late, but if you feel like fighting the decline honourably, please do.
Or if you do it, and have a valid explanation or excuse, let’s hear it:
Remember when you were an impressionable kid, and you hung out with some new/older kids – maybe some fresh arrivals at school who’d moved from somewhere wild and exotic, like Peckham, or Shrewsbury? And they talked differently – they had different accents, and different names for snot or underpants?
Of course, to write effectively on a business’ behalf, you need to know your audience. You need at least an overview of what matters to them, the problems you can solve for them, what makes them happy, and so on. And you need to be able to distinguish your brand from all the others vying for the same audience’s attention.
But here’s the thing… Read More
But not in a good way…
People often adopt and use jargon to impress others. It doesn’t. Unless you’re in a profession where the language you use describes something specific and precise – and where it is crucial to the context – all you’re doing is showing that you’re not quite sure of yourself, or your message. Read More
Okay, not so much when it’s the ubiquitous rogue apostrophe at the greengrocer, or the ‘Quite Please’ or ‘Shareholder’s meeting’ sellotaped to the conference room door. Not everyone is a grammar geek – and it’d be a much duller internet if they were. But…
