The School of Unprofessional Writing

“I hope this email finds you well.”

Safe. Bland. Robotic. That’s how most email openings sound. Ditch the clichés and say something real.

👉 What greeting do you overuse? Be honest.

Show yourself - don't hide behind cliches s=Show yourself. Let your personality peep out – especially at the starts and ends of emails. A few questions that get the juices flowing: How would I chat to this person if we were face to face? What would be a funny way to greet this person today? How can I refer to the last interaction we ha

An example of great writing: Powerful kaimoana infographic

Imagine you're wondering about changing what you eat to help the environment. Are you going to have to eat tofu forever?

You find research on the carbon footprint of our kaimoana.

Notice how quickly these sustainability analysts present their findings to you!

Here’s a trick for fixing over-use of passive voice.

Use ‘you’ and ‘we’.

👉 Find out why this is such an effective work-around –

Use you and we not passive voice You and we are essential words! You can still sound objective using you and we. Your style guide will tell you to use them. Every piece of writing guidance I've ever seen encourages people to use active voice. Colleen Trolove, NZ's favourite plain language writing trainer! Workshop info & trai

An example of great writing: Helpful update to terms and conditions

Groan – another 'We've updated our terms and conditions' email! You dutifully click the link, expecting to be slammed with screeds of unreadable text.

✨ Instead, you're looking at a tidy 3-column table✨

-It shows only what terms have changed, not the whole kit and kaboodle
-It's easy to compare old terms with new terms
-You can choose to read only the sections you care about
-It's well spaced so you don't feel flooded with information

Well done Genesis!

When you’re in review mode, do you ever get that gut reaction of ‘This isn’t how I’d put it’?

Might you be changing people’s writing to suit your personal preference?

👉 This can make you a less effective reviewer, so here’s a way to check -

Beware of 'This isn't how I'd put it' When you’re in review mode, do you ever get that gut reaction of ‘This isn’t how I’d put it’? For most of us, that’s our cue to turn on track changes and edit the other person’s writing. Instead, first ask a few more questions. ‘Is it a problem?’ It might not be. It might not need ...

It's easier than you think to make your writing work for people of all abilities. Learn quick and easy ways to make everyone welcome in your writing. Check our Accessibility and Inclusion course in the School: https://www.colleentrolove.co.nz/schoolofunprofessionalwriting

An example of great writing: Well-designed table

Now this is a pretty table!

Steph Hacksley, High Priestess of Clear Communication, has nailed:

-grey borders that give structure but don't fight for your attention
-subheading rows that go all the way across – not sliced through by downward lines
-simple colour palette
-SPACE around everything! Nothing is slammed into a border.

“Here.” “Click here.” “More info.”

If your links sound like this, you’re missing a chance to help your readers — and anyone using assistive tech — know what they’ll get when they click.

👉 Learn how to make your links enticingly clickable:

The art of the click-worthy link Effective links are beacons of blue underlined clarity, fulfilling your readers' yearning to click. Longer links give a bigger landing zone for a finger. Effective links tell the reader what they'll get when they click. They work independently of the text around them. Colleen Trolove, NZ's favourite

This is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants tour of the nine types of words in English. What are they? And what do you need to know about them? Explore the School - https://www.colleentrolove.co.nz/schoolofunprofessionalwriting

An example of great writing: You can hear the language of the interviewees

The writers have not tried to fancy it up. They’ve stayed true to the original spoken language while paraphrasing it.

Notice how the language choices make you trust these researchers. You see them as good listeners and allies of the people they interviewed.

*This write-up of qualitative research appears in He Ara Oranga, Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, 2018.

✨

How do you explain words to people who aren’t familiar with them?

Start with an everyday description, and then introduce the new term. Use punctuation to mark the new term.

👉 Here’s how to do it effectively –

How to explain unfamiliar words How do you explain words to people who aren’t familiar with them? Start with an everyday description, and then introduce the new term. Use punctuation to mark the new term. Colleen Trolove, NZ's favourite plain language writing trainer! Workshop info & training options for individuals and group

Create compelling speeches. Learn to analyze your audience, reinforce key messages, tell compelling stories, hone your timing, and be conversational. Check out the School - https://www.colleentrolove.co.nz/schoolofunprofessionalwriting