Reader challenge: New, non-liquid metaphors for money?
Liquid metaphors dominate our discussion of money, said New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks in “Poetry for Everyday Life,” his April 12 column. For example, said Brooks, “We dip into savings, sponge off friends or skim funds off the top. Even the job title stockbroker derives from the French word brocheur, the tavern worker […]
Reader challenge: Shorten this phrase
“Prosecutors Hope Verdict Will Be a Deterrent to Others,” says the headline about Raj Rajaratnam’s conviction in this morning’s print edition of The New York Times. What grabbed me about the headline is how easily I could shorten it. I know what I’d do, but what about you? Please post your answer below.
Let’s get possessive: A financial writing tip
Sometimes it pays for financial writers to get possessive. No, I’m not suggesting that you jealously hoard your office supplies or isolate your clients from other professionals. This is a writing tip. Instead, I’m suggesting that you use the possessive case to shorten phrases. For example, turn “The tone of the market improved by Friday” […]
Pictures can supercharge your message: A grasshopper story
People absorb messages better when words are complemented by an image. This is a rule that any writer can exploit. Take my dinner at Casa Oaxaca on a Mexican vacation. It was a multi-course tasting menu, so I could gloss over the chapulines in the taquitos de jicama con chapulines, quesillo y cuitlacoche. But then […]
WSJ video highlights plain English for financial advisors
The Wall Street Journal continues to highlight the case for plain English. An article, “A Tip for Financial Advisers: When Possible, Use English,” expands on the ideas introduced in the video. If you like this article-video combo, you may also enjoy former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt’s opinion essay, which I discussed in “The Levitt test […]