Whether you asked your boss for more resources in an email or tried to convince your significant other via text message that sushi is the best choice for dinner, at some point, you have written something intended to persuade another party to do something.
After you hit the “send” button, you discovered what we all inevitably discover: persuading someone to do something through writing is a difficult art to master. However, by practicing helpful tips like the three below, it doesn’t have to be.
Topics: writing tips, persuade, cliches
Our last post talked about how to identify the clichés in your writing and why you want to get rid of them. This post tells you how to do that.
The first step to eliminating clichés is understanding what they mean. Given that we use clichés because they’re seemingly widely understood, discerning their meaning should be relatively easy, right? Well, yes … if you understand the meaning. That’s not difficult with some of the examples given in the previous post (e.g., few and far between, think outside the box, path of least resistance). But with idioms that have become clichés, it can be more daunting.
Topics: business writing, idioms, cliches
Out with the old, in with the new. Familiar? Yes. Inspiring? Not so much.
That’s how it is with clichés — we love them and use them because they’re easy to remember, don’t require much effort or creativity, and are a widely understood shorthand that captures the essence of a person, situation, event, etc. But they also make for writing that feels tired and unoriginal. And if familiarity breeds contempt, it’s easy to see why editors attack such hackneyed expressions with the fury of a woman scorned.
Topics: business writing, idioms, cliches
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