Let’s face it: One of the most difficult aspects of English writing is the misuse and abuse of words. For nearly every rule, there’s an exception. But that doesn’t excuse business writers from proper use of commonly confused words. Let’s look at five of the worst gotchas in business writing: Who/that: It has become common in popular writing to see “who” applied to inanimate objects and organizations. There’s already a pronoun for that, and it’s… that! Reserve who for references to people and try to avoid use of “that” as a stand-in for customers and employees. “We are an organization of people who are dedicated to improving the health of children in our community.” And: “XXX is an organizati
Learning a new language is never easy. Learning to think fast, read and write in a new language to keep pace in your job with native speakers is a tough, but often essential, undertaking. Consider the following five tips to help improve your English, especially essential business writing skills. And by the way, these tips work for native English speakers as well: 1. Read. The more English writing that you read, the better. It’s okay to read online blogs (like this one, for instance!), but keep graduating to more complex and lengthier material. And don’t just read business books and journals. Find magazines and fiction books that interest you, or favorite authors to follow, and read their wor
