A BizWritingTip reader wanted to know whether to use numbers or words when expressing time. BizWritingTip response: ?When you are using a.m. or p.m., use the numbers. Example We will start the meeting at 8:30 a.m. (Note the space between the number and a.m.) He can usually be found at the gym between noon and […]
I recently asked people to send me their pet peeves with regard to emails. My pet peeve was — and is — people who don’t put their phone numbers on their emails. Several BizWritingTip readers supported me. Marina H. went one step further. Her peeve was people who not include the extension, forcing people to […]
I have found that most people have a love/hate relationship with emails. Here’s an opportunity to vent and to learn. I am conducting a survey of business people’s pet peeves when it comes to this form of communication. My pet peeve is emails that lack phone numbers. Sometimes if a reply is lengthy or negative, […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote: I am curious as to what salutation should be used on letters when you don’t know the name or gender of the person you’re writing to. Is “gentlemen” passe? BizWritingTip response: Yes, “gentlemen” by itself is considered passé. You could address the letter to “Ladies and Gentlemen.” (Don’t use the word […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote:? I challenged my boss that we can use the word emails when referring to more than one. But he said that there’s no “s” on the end as in paper mail there’s no “s” on the end. We would never say that we received mails today. Please advise. BizWritingTip’s response: Technically, your […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote: Help us settle a debate: If the letter content is identical and you want two parties to be aware that the other party has received the same information, can you send just one letter and CC: the other person? Or, do you have to send each person two copies of the same […]
Of all the business documents you prepare (letters, emails, memos, reports, business cases, briefing notes), which one is most likely to have a negative impact on your professional image? The answer: short emails. Why? Because the one- or two-line email is the one we write most often and with the least amount of thought. Someone […]
If not, you should. C.S. Lewis once said, “I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down a road, if there is any gate to the left or right, the readers will most certainly go into it.” This statement is particularly true in the world of business writing. As our readers are impatient, pressed […]
Just as some grammar rules have changed, so too are numbers in for an overhaul. Several BizWtitingTip readers have pointed out that many of the blue population signs on major highways are missing the commas that designate thousands. This is the international way of expressing numbers. When numbers run to five or more figures, spaces […]
Just wanted to point out a truly Canadian company – Tim Hortons. If you ever participate in their Roll-Up-the-Rim-to-Win contest, you will notice the numbers on their disposable coffee cups do not have commas to indicate thousands. This is the metric way of writing numbers and also the international style. Canada went metric in the […]