Monday, October 31, 2016

5 Simple Ways to Write about Negative Issues with a Positive Spin

Have you ever written something only to have the recipient completely misunderstand your intent? Or been accused of abruptness when you thought you were being businesslike and efficient? There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to communicating effectively, but among the most important is tone.

I’ve spent nearly two decades in the online trenches in roles ranging from business owner to forum moderator to PR email writer extraordinaire—a true virtual diplomat.

What Is Imposter Syndrome, and How Do You Overcome It?

You took this job because you wanted to grow, try different things, and face new challenges. You wanted to expand your skillset—to learn by doing something you’d never done before.

Instead, it feels like you’re flailing. Like a golden retriever wearing a necktie, you have no idea what you’re doing, do you? Given your historic string of gaffes, it’s only a matter of time before someone calls you out for the fraud you are.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Can You Actually Use Emojis in Work Emails?

Chances are you encounter emojis on a daily basis. These adorable icons are popping up everywhere—in texts with friends and family, social media posts, and even in the movie theater.

But are they in your work emails? And—here’s the more salient question—should they be in your work emails?

Emoji use has risen steadily since their creation in Japan in the late 1990s. For many of us they’re now a normal part of digital communication, but do they belong in the workplace?

9 Perfect Ways to Improve Your Proofreading Skills

We all know that proofreading is important—it doesn’t matter if you’re a native speaker or just learning English. Nothing is worse than turning in a project you worked hard on, only to discover that it’s full of typos, misspellings, and grammatical mistakes. But proofreading your own writing is tough. Sometimes your brain sees what you meant to write instead of what’s actually on the page.

Friday, October 21, 2016

16 Original Pun-inspired Costumes to Wear This Halloween

To anyone who’s been following us on social media, it should come as no surprise that Grammarly loves puns—especially clever ones that we’ve never seen before. With Halloween just around the corner, we thought we would pull together some of the most creative ideas to spark your imagination.

1Drawn and Quartered

It’s a good thing puns aren’t considered treason! Follow this helpful tutorial to cover yourself in Pop Art makeup, then draw or hot-glue quarters to an old T-shirt.

Comma After Introductory Clauses

Introductory clauses are dependent clauses that are often found at the beginning of the sentence (although they can be moved to the end of the sentence, too, without confusing the meaning of the sentence). After a dependent introductory clause, we use a comma to separate the introductory clause from the independent clause. Consider the examples below:

As the man was walking into the store he came face to face with his childhood sweetheart.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Creative People Will Want to Know These 4 Tips from JJ Abrams

If you’re a fan of film, television, or lens flare, you’ve probably heard of JJ Abrams. He’s the Emmy award–winning writer-director-producer who brought us Alias, Felicity, Lost, Super 8, Mission Impossible III, Cloverfield, and 10 Cloverfield Lane.

Oh yeah . . . and he rebooted two of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time, Star Trek and Star Wars. No big deal, y’all!

If you’re ready to make your own creative mark on the world, listen up—JJ’s got some advice for you.

Monday, October 17, 2016

20 Email Subject Lines That Will Get Opened Every Time

Did you know that 33 percent of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based on subject line alone? If you want your email read, you’ve got to get it opened first. Here are twenty powerful headers to try for four different types of email outreach, plus a few helpful tips for creating subject lines that work.

Networking

Met you at [event]. Let’s connect!

If you’ve met your contact before, and you’re convinced they’d remember the meeting favorably, it’s always helpful to bring it up

Friday, October 14, 2016

How British English and American English are Different

Many Americans who love tea would turn up their noses at the idea of adding milk to it. Brits, on the other hand, are known for lacing their strong tea with milk. With or without milk, tea is tea. It’s served one way in Britain and another way in the United States, but everyone can recognize it for what it is. The language that Americans and Brits share is a bit like that—spoken differently in the two locations, but understandable by both groups of speakers.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Rules for Comma Usage

Ah, the comma. Of all the punctuation marks in English, this one is perhaps the most abused and misused. And it’s no wonder. There are lots of rules about comma usage, and often the factors that determine whether you should use one are quite subtle. But fear not! Below, you’ll find guidance for the trickiest comma questions.

What Is a Comma?

While a period ends a sentence, a comma indicates a smaller break.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

11 Emoji Tips to Save Your Texts

Whether you like the tiny emotion-pictures or despise them, emojis are heavily used throughout messaging apps.

If you’re new to emojis, or you’ve long been expressing your joy with crying smiling faces and your sass with reception desk workers, you can up your game. Check out these tips to make your texts as emoji-filled as possible.

1. Know common emoji meanings.

Emojis may not be language, but some of the more commonly used symbols do have accepted meanings.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Office Etiquette​ You Should Know on Casual Friday

So-called “Casual Friday” can be more stressful than the days when the rules are hard and fast. Are all jeans verboten, or just the ones with rips all the way up your thighs? Is it frowned upon to peace out early? When that last-minute task pops up, can’t you just pretend you didn’t see the note until Monday morning?

Here are some tips on office etiquette to help you be as professionally casual on Fridays as you are professionally professional the rest of the week.

Thursday, October 6, 2016

If You Want to Know How to Apologize, First Do This…

If you want to succeed at apologizing, start by telling yourself you’re awesome.

The advice sounds counterintuitive. It’s common knowledge that if you want to make a real apology, the kind that’s meaningful and sincere, you have to start by setting aside your ego. But that’s easier said than done, because research shows that not admitting we’re wrong is pretty emotionally satisfying.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

To Whom It May Concern: When and How to Use It Properly

Once, in a time before nearly everyone had access to the Internet in the palms of their hands, it was common to begin business correspondence with the salutation To Whom It May Concern. But times have changed.

We’ll take a look at whether you should use To Whom It May Concern, explore a few alternatives, and talk about the only type of correspondence where this greeting is still acceptable.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Quiz: How Good Are You with Job Interviews?

Job interviews are hard.

The anticipation and anxiety about doing well or messing up can be worse than a first date with a crush.

In our society, we place a lot of importance on job interview performance, which is why it can be surprising to see just how little many people know about interview questions and basic interview etiquette.

To help you understand whether you’re on track, we put together a simple quiz that will test your understanding of good interview habits.