Freelance Writer, Copywriter, Ghostwriter, Business Writing, Web Content

Making your ideas stick

April 24, 2012

Like many of you, I have a lot of books on the shelves of my office, not to mention beside my bed. I’m a sucker for a snappy title which, combined with the instant gratification offered by online shopping, has made building a large collection all too easy in recent years.

Of course, some of those books are still in the ‘queue’ to be read. Others have been partially read but they (or I) ran out of puff before finishing them. And then there are the few – the very few – that have been read from end to end and marked throughout with comments and/or sticky labels.

One of the most annotated books in my library is Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. Read the full article…

Print This Post

Tagged as: Books, communication, ideas, Writing

{ 0 comments }

Are you regular? You should be.

Just over ten years ago I set out on the journey of self-employment, a journey I’ve continued to travel ever since. (Yes, I reckon I’m basically unemployable now.) Soon after venturing out onto the road I discovered that self-employment necessarily comes with self-promotion as a passenger. So I did what everyone else was doing in [...]

Read the full article →

Beat the NYE rush. Resolve now.

True, most of us are still coming to grips with the fact of Christmas decorations having been up for weeks. But before we know it, Xmas ‘11 will have been and gone and New Year’s Eve will be upon us. Which means only one thing: resolution time again. Now, be honest. Do you remember a [...]

Read the full article →

Two ‘rules’ you need to unlearn – period.

How much have you retained of the grammar you learnt at school? I’m guessing not a lot – at least not in a formal sense. ‘Dominant clauses’, ‘past participles’ and ‘future perfect tense’? If you can define all those you probably don’t need to read on. Strangely, although most of us left a lot of [...]

Read the full article →

Improve your writing in one easy step

After Melbourne author Anh Do won a few prizes recently for his book The Happiest Refugee, there was a bit of media eyebrow-raising when it came to light that Do had had the assistance of a ghostwriter in putting together his book. The unspoken implication seemed to be that perhaps Do’s award-winning credentials should be [...]

Read the full article →

Losing their way in management gobbledegook

Readers who know me personally will know that I am a keen follower of Australian Rules football and the Collingwood Football Club in particular. Tonight my team plays one of our ‘traditional rivals’, Richmond. Unfortunately for the spectacle it’s likely to be a one-sided affair as Collingwood are reigning premiers and Richmond are, well, let’s just [...]

Read the full article →

Ningaloo reef: when reassurance is impossible

ABC News reports today that the Shell oil company are requesting permission to commence exploratory drilling for oil and gas 50 km from Ningaloo reef. As a Shell spokesperson, John D’Agostino, trots out the usual reassurances, I find myself in the strange situation of almost feeling sorry for him. Here’s the Shell line: “Shell has [...]

Read the full article →

How a tomato helps me get stuff done

Every writer and self-employed person understands the challenge of focus. How to get things done – to be productive – and avoid the myriad distractions which ceaselessly badger us for our attention. Last year I discovered a simple technique which has made a huge difference to the way I manage my time. It’s so effective [...]

Read the full article →

NAB: if you want to break up, keep it short

Is it only me? Am I the only one who doesn’t get the whole NAB “It’s over between us” thing? Sure, the big bank launched their campaign with a big bang earlier this week, and sure, they have garnered plenty of attention. But what does it all mean? One of the challenges of selling something [...]

Read the full article →

Fine tune your language for better communication

On a recent trip to Vietnam I found myself sitting in a hotel lobby for a few minutes. With nothing else to do, I eavesdropped on the communication taking place between staff and guests at reception. (Beware the bored writer.) As I listened, small misunderstandings seemed to creep into nearly every conversation I heard across [...]

Read the full article →

This year, make your greeting cards meaningful

Seems like we just finished the last one but, yes, the silly season is upon us again. Amongst other things, that means swinging into the December routines around the office. Dusting off the decorations, planning the parties … and composing the greeting cards. Now the greeting card task might sound fairly ho-hum, but it is [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries