Tip #2 for the Business Writer

Choose the right modifiers

Part 2 of a 5-part series on writing well.


Modifiers—the words that qualify nouns and verbs—can make or break your writing.


Like concrete nouns, modifiers can add precision your readers will appreciate.


But modifiers are tricky.


Use the right modifiers and your writing lifts off (think The Right Stuff).


Use the wrong modifers... use weak ones... use too many... or use clichés... and your writing fizzles.


As a rule, it's wise to omit modifiers, unless they add mojo to the nouns and verbs they qualify.


Here's an example (from Apple) of mangling your modifiers:


Sometimes life takes you by surprise. You’re reading a best seller on your iPad waiting for the morning train when you spy a gifted performer on the platform. Or you’re browsing the web on the couch when your dog trots by wearing your daughter’s tutu. The iSight camera on the new iPad lets you capture all these unpredictable, beautiful, and hilarious moments.


Does morning fortify the noun train? Only if the writer wanted us to think, "I can use my iPad while I commute."


Does iSight fortify camera? Positively.


Does new fortify iPad? Sure. No argument there.


Does gifted fortify performer? Nope. It's a cliché.


Do unpredictable, beautiful, and hilarious fortify moments? No. Once again, they're clichés.


How might the writer have better said this by omitting the modifiers?


Sometimes life takes you by surprise. You’re reading a best seller on your iPad waiting for the train when you spy a performer on the platform. Or you’re browsing the web on the couch when your dog trots by wearing your daughter’s tutu. The iSight camera on the new iPad lets you capture those moments.

Tip #1 for the Business Writer

Use concrete nouns

Part 1 of a 5-part series on writing well.

Concrete nouns not only bring your writing to life, but signify to readers that you care about them.

Abstract nouns, on the other hand, are usually the sign of an indifferent writer.

Face it: abstract talk is easy.

Finding the right concrete noun is hard.

The indifferent writer, instead of doing the heavy lifting, simply labels general categories of things.

The result?

Readers are left with little or no grasp of the writer's point. 

Worse, they're left wondering if the writer even cares about connecting with them.


Here's an example (from Delta Airlines) of overusing abstract nouns:


Earth Day provides a great opportunity for us as an airline to reflect on the importance of sustainability efforts in our industry. We're proud to say we've made a lot of progress in recent years, yet remain aware of the work still ahead of us.


How might the writer have better said this by using concrete nouns?

Earth Day provides us a moment to reflect on Delta's responsibility to help sustain our planet. We're proud of the strides we've taken in recent years, yet aware there's work still ahead.

Staying Abreast

New media lovers take notice.


Just when you thought old media was dead, it grabs headlines and attention everywhere.


I'm referring of course to the controversial cover of this week's edition of Time.


The magazine's editors found a bewitching way to draw readers into an otherwise ho-hum story about so-called "attachment parenting."


Sure, Facebook is engaging, amusing and clubby.


But traditional media, when it wants to, can still pack a wallop.

Self-Inflicted Wounds

A military judge would argue that, in battle, there are no "accidental" self-inflicted wounds.

But I've discovered one in the war for attention.

It's an article offering Tips on Becoming a Good Writer that begins as follows:

"As the saying goes, the pen is sharper than the sword. A good writer is able to influence their readers into their train of thought; he or she is able to encourage and motivate the reader, gain their trust, and make the readers practice what they learnt from them. What it means to you that, whether you are aspiring to be a author of a bestselling novel or you are a marketer representing your company products and brand, being good in writing can put you in many advantages."

Chinese proverb: If your words are worthless, don't give advice.

My Birthday Cake Moment

If it's true, as futurists predict, that the next great war will be an economic one, the US has already lost.

How do I know?

I've had my birthday cake moment.

In a crucial scene in Battle of the Bulge—one of my all-time favorite war movies—actor Robert Shaw, who plays a Nazi colonel, examines a birthday cake he's seized from an American POW.

He turns to his adjutant and says, "The enemy has the fuel and planes to fly cake over the Atlantic Ocean. Do you know what this means? Germany has already lost the war."

Last week, while waiting at the gate for a flight, I had my birthday cake moment.

It's important to note the flight number was 1175; the time of departure, 11:20.

A woman and her teenage daughter plopped down next to me.

The woman looked lost and confused. "Did we get here in time?" she snapped at the girl.

The teenager rolled her eyes, unfolded her boarding pass and scrutinized it.  "The plane doesn't leave until 1175," she insisted.

Seventeen years old... and she can't tell time.

Do you know what this means?

We have already lost the war.