Shall vs. will–which is best?
“When should I use ‘shall’ instead of ‘will’? ” I confess that this reader question stumped me. I can’t remember ever using the word “shall.” The question spurred me to do some research on the topic of shall vs. will. First person vs. second or third person A Grammar Girl post on “‘Shall’ Versus ‘Will‘” […]
Top posts from 2017’s third quarter
Check out my top posts from the third quarter! They’re a mix of practical tips on email (#1), writing (#2, 3, 4, & 6), blogging (#5), marketing (#7, 8, & 9), and presentations (#10). Here’s my list of posts that attracted the most views during the third quarter: Out-of-office auto-reply: vacation necessity? Editing tool: the […]
Communicate with your clients about their legacy
When you’re a financial advisor, you can deepen your relationship with clients when you learn more about their values and the legacy they’d like to leave. That’s one of the reasons Kathleen Burns Kingsbury encourages you to conduct legacy conversations with your clients. She suggests a list of questions in her book, Breaking Money Silence: How […]
Red tulip writing exercise
Want to think creatively about your next article or blog post? Try the red tulip exercise that I discovered in Helen Sword’s Stylish Academic Writing. Here’s an exercise that Sword suggests for “generating new ideas and perspectives” for academic writing, but you can apply it to other types of writing: Ask a friend, relative, or […]
Writing question: how do you know when you have too many details?
How do you know when you have too many details in your writing? That question from a participant in my investment commentary webinar made me think of these six tips. Try them if your writing gets bogged down by details. 1. Go with your gut Seasoned writers rely on their instincts to know when they’ve […]