Lucid Lingo
Communicating... in plain English
Lucid Lingo
Posted on September 27, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: buzzword bingo, buzzwords, Gobbledygook, jargon, meetings
Anyone who has spent a couple of days in a corporation would know how boring, insufferable and interminable many meetings are.
The worse part of course is tolerating the gobbledygook, jargon and buzzwords usually spouted. You know, all the ‘paradigm shifting’, ‘leveraging’ and ‘going forwarding’.
Well one way to pass the time is to play buzzword bingo [...]
Posted on September 26, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: copywriting, plain English writing
One of the world’s most famous and successful investors is an advocate of plain English. His name: Warren Buffett.
I wasn’t aware of this until I came across a preface he wrote to a document called A Plain English Handbook: How to create clear SEC documents.
In his preface the ‘Sage from Omaha’ covered some of the [...]
Posted on July 20, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: web content
When was the last time you updated your website?
For many small to medium sized businesses it’s a fair bet the answer would either be: ‘not for awhile’ or ‘never’.
So many websites are built and left ‘as is’; barely touched at all since they day they were launched.
The reason has to do with time – or [...]
Posted on July 11, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: primary user, Web copywriting
When you write copy for your website, first ask yourself: who is my primary user?
Defining your primary user will help resolve what content to put on your site, the tone and style of web copy, and the visual design and functionality.
Content that is not suitable for your primary user would dilute the impact and relevance [...]
Posted on June 28, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: engaging headlines, Web copywriting
I gave Internet dating a go once. Why not, seemed an okay way to meet women, and a lot better than propping up a bar or having a second cousin introduce you to the sister of a friend of a colleague.
One of the things I noted as I scrolled through the pages and pages of [...]
Posted on June 16, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: copywriting, product benefits, Web copywriting
Recently I had a conversation with a sales person in one of the big electronic stores here in Brisbane. The young man (why are they always men and not women?) waxed on about the wonderful features of this particular brand and model of computer.
As a marketer, what interested me was how much he was caught [...]
Posted on May 31, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: blogging, copywriting
I’ve just finished reading Keith Richard’s autobiography, Life.
The Rolling Stone guitarist and founding member, the one they call the most ‘elegantly wasted’ man in the world, did not disappoint.
The book is entertaining from start to finish, providing insight into the band and its music and as memorable as many of his iconic guitar riffs.
Not only [...]
Posted on May 29, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments »
One of the things you can rely on to lighten up your day is to listen to the news conferences of politicians. What they do with the English language is a marvel.
At home, we have our very own Kevin Rudd doing his best to broaden our appreciation of jargon and gobbledygook – a true champion [...]
Posted on May 24, 11 by Gary Chow | 1 Comment » | Tags: blogging, copywriting, inverted triangle
Get to the point quickly when you write blog posts and online articles. Don’t mess about, get right to the heart of the matter.
Read most newspaper reports and you get the gist of the story by reading the headline and the first paragraph. What happened, who was involved, when, where and perhaps why – all [...]
Posted on May 20, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: art, Plain English, writing
George Costanza to Jerry Seinfeld:
“ I don’t get art. It always has to be explained to me and then I have to have someone explain the explanation…”
I empathise with George. I feel the same when I go to an art gallery and read the plaque next to the artwork. What are they going on about? [...]
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