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With the beginning of December, I wish you well for the festive season, whether you are celebrating Christmas, Chanukah or the end of Ramadan! Welcome to those of you who haven't received my newsletter before, and welcome back to those who have! Recently, I have received three letters/emails from people asking if I have any jobs available (which I don't!) Reading them showed how the way you say something can be just as important as what you say. All three people were saying they wanted to work for me and had some relevant skills, yet only one of them had any chance of being employed by me. I'll give a brief description of each and you can choose which one you would employ:
The lesson here is that C showed her writing skills, had done her research and put her message in terms I would appreciate. B had done some research but in trying to prove her skills she alienated me with her arrogance. C's lack of research and attention to detail didn't help the fact she hadn't considered what I wanted to know about a potential editor for my clients. I hope that next time you write a letter or document, you think about what the reader wants rather than your needs and style. It truly makes a difference in how your document will be received.
Tash
PS Word Constructions will be
operating over the entire Christmas period, except for the main days of
Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years Day. You're most welcome to contact me about
projects you need early in the new year, even if you will be away from business
for December or January.
Consistency
One difference between a professional document or website and another one is consistency. As well as keeping the obvious things consistent, such as the font, the style of language and formatting, you need to be consistent with words. For instance, when writing about websites you may use the word web-site many times on the page and across the web site itself. It will be annoying and distracting to your readers if you aren't consistent with the spelling of website, so choose a version and stick to it. For true consistency, keep a record of such words so you always use the same version. Examples of words you need to think about are website/web site/web-site, database/data-base, email/Email/e-mail and per cent/percent.
Find out more by clicking here.
Cite: to mention or quote a document or legal result. "He cited Judge Brown's findings from case 32" Site: a relevant place or piece of ground. It includes a construction site (where building works are taking place), a sacred site (a place of significant meaning to some people) and a crime site (the area where an activity took place, in this case an illegal activity). Sight: the ability to see and what is seen. "sight is one of the five senses." "It was a magnificent sight from the lookout." These three words sound exactly the same but have very different meanings. Site is easy to remember if you think of a site being a place where you can sit.
Getting into the spirit of Christmas can be quite simple but effective. To brighten up your business website, you don't need to change the colours or text. In fact, you don't even have to add a Christmas message if you don't want to. The simplest way of giving a touch of Christmas without detracting from your usual web look is to add one or a few Christmas Web Graphics.
** In the spirit of Christmas giving, Web Graphics By Email has made available a range of free graphics you may use to decorate your site with. Please respect the copyright of these graphics, which remains with Ally Lamont at all times. **
Still looking for some great business gift ideas for
your clients and suppliers? Try these suggestions
What is copyright?
Copyright is the protection of intellectual property, such as written documents. You don't have to register your work for it to be copyrighted - that shopping list you wrote the other day is copyright protected just as much as the content of this newsletter and the latest Harry Potter book. The copyright symbol is a useful reminder to people that the material can't be copied without permission, but it isn't necessary for copyright to apply. So don't assume that you can copy something just because it doesn't display (c) or ©Copyright protects the expression of ideas. So the idea of Harry Potter learning wizardry at a magical school isn't copyrighted but the story written by Rowling is protected. And the editor who puts together a collection of poems holds copyright over the collection even if other poets hold the copyright on each poem included. What does copyright actually mean? It simply means that the work can't be copied, reproduced or distributed without the permission of the copyright holder. Remember, copyright can be sold so it can be hard to trace who owns the copyright on something. And it lasts for 50 years after the creator's death. 10% rule Many people ill tell you that copying up to 10% of something doesn't break copyright. This isn't necessarily true. If the section you copy includes a significant part of the work it may still be a breach of copyright. And referencing to the author doesn't make copying slabs of their work acceptable under copyright laws, either. The safest option is to never copy anyone else's work without their permission. You are welcome to pass this newsletter on to anyone you think will be interested, but please send it as is without changes. If you were passed this email by a friend, you can subscribe here. This newsletter is only ever sent to my clients and people who request the monthly newsletter & writing tips found at www.wordconstructions.com. Your email details will never be given, lent or sold to any party whatsoever and you are free to leave this service at any time by sending me an email. Important: This email (including any attachments) is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential information. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender. Whilst Word Constructions has taken reasonable steps to ensure this email is virus free, it accepts no responsibility and makes no warranty. The recipient should take its own steps to ensure there is no virus. Word Constructions accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email. |
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© 2005, Tash Hughes