Lucid Lingo
Communicating... in plain English
Lucid Lingo
Posted on May 18, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: avoiding gobbledygook, buzzwords, plain English writing
Ever sit in a meeting and walk out an hour later and not have the faintest what was said? If you have, it’s because what you heard wasn’t plain English but more likely corporate gobbledygook, a unique language composed of buzzwords, clichés and jargon. It’s not just the spoken word, of course, gobbledygook is prevalent [...]
Posted on May 17, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: copywriting, financial services documents, plain English writing
I’ve written copy for numerous product disclosure documents for financial service firms. They aren’t the most exciting things to write about, but if you plan to sell financial services they are a must-have. No PDS, no sale. I am aware that some see a PDS as a compliance matter; a task best left to the [...]
Posted on May 9, 11 by Gary Chow | 1 Comment » | Tags: brochure, financial services, Graphic design, Marketing, product disclosure statements, superannuation pds
I specialise in copy writing for financial services, and over the years have written and edited copy for many product disclosure statements for superannuation and pension funds. A product disclosure statement (sometimes referred to as a prospectus or a member’s guide) provides information allowing a consumer to make an ‘informed decision’ on whether to invest in a [...]
Posted on April 27, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: advertising copy, copywriter, copywriting function, Freelance copywriter, personal copywriting, writing actively
I’ve been a copywriter for over 15 years, but many of my friends and acquaintances still don’t have a full handle on what I do. Some even think my work has to do with legal protection of intellectual property, as in ‘copyright’. I must be doing a bad job of explaining it. So what exactly is [...]
Posted on April 15, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: avoiding gobbledygook, buzzwords, cliche, jargon
I recently finished an assignment at a large government office. It had been a while since I stepped into the hallowed halls of a large organisation so one of the first things that hit me was the degree of spoken mumbo-jumbo. I felt I had wandered into a new world where the lingo was not quite [...]
Posted on April 11, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: active writing, conversational tone, direct copywriting, personal copywriting
I used to edit and proofread technical reports written by environmental scientists. What struck me was how formal and passive the writing was. Their reports were full of passive sentence constructions such as ‘the writer believes’ or ‘it is thought’. And instead of referring to the reader as ‘you’ they’d refer to them using their [...]
Posted on March 27, 11 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: copy, copywriting, descriptive words, marketing words, using plain words, website content, words for copy, words that sell
Words have a powerful effect on how we perceive things, and nowhere is this more so than in the copy you write for your website and marketing collateral. As a copywriter it’s imperative that you use words that describe not only the technical aspects of your product and service but paint the image and personality [...]
Posted on August 16, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: about us page, avoiding gobbledygook, copywriting, web content, Web copywriting, web design, website content
Some time ago I thought I’d give speed dating a try. I was curious and figured I’d add it to my life experiences. If you’ve tried it you’d know how it works. You sit and chat with one person for a few minutes until a bell rings and you move onto the next person. At [...]
Posted on August 10, 10 by Gary Chow | 1 Comment » | Tags: copywriting, Marketing, web content, website messages
A website is a marketing tool. Used well it can even be the cornerstone of your entire marketing efforts. But like any marketing tool, what you say on your website should reflect what you do in reality. Practice what you preach in other words. I was reminded of this key point in a recent dealing [...]
Posted on May 31, 10 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Tags: advertising copy, copywriting, Marketing, marketing messages, Web copywriting
I was chatting with a friend the other day about… batteries. Both of us recalled the ‘energizer bunny’ commercials but neither of us was sure which company it represented. Is it Eveready or is it Duracell? Coincidentally, on the same day I read this post about the sameness of company websites by Seth Godin. He [...]
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