Archive For The “Uncategorized” Category

Misplaced Modifiers

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Misplaced Modifiers

At a nice hotel in New York recently we saw this sign prominently displayed on the registration desk:   Hearing Impaired Devices Available Upon Request   We have several devices like a cell phone, a tablet, a computer, and so on. None of them, as far as we know, are hearing impaired. But, apparently at…

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Vaporous Storytelling

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Vaporous Storytelling

Recently we came across this communication from a healthcare system to its patients or consumers or customers or external stakeholders, or whatever your preference is to describe your constituency:   In the disruptive and rapidly changing environment of healthcare, our hospital system is leading a paradigm shift in patient-centered care using data-driven models to pursue…

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Lessons from the Masters

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Lessons from the Masters

  From time to time we find it useful to reflect on lessons from great storytelling masters and to let them guide us on the journey toward healthy writing. One of our favorites is Mark Twain, who had both wisdom and wit when he talked about the art and craft of the power of words….

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Be Direct with Message

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Be Direct with Message

All writing is storytelling, whether it’s a quick email or a memo or a longer report. How we open a story is critical to engaging the reader because we compete for the reader’s limited time. Journalists are taught to think in terms of the 5 Ws and an H. Who, What, When, Where, Why and…

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Be Careful with Questions

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Be Careful with Questions

The advertisement for the hospital began with the prominent headline: Is It Possible to Transform the Way Emergency Care is Delivered? The first two sentences of the narrative copy asked: What if emergency care were designed around you? What if all the different steps typically encountered in the emergency department could be streamlined? Then the…

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Pruning Dead Wood

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Pruning Dead Wood

One of the most common problems in writing, or speaking, is the addition of unnecessary words to a primary thought. Think of the overall narrative as a well-rooted tree trunk with strong branches and offshoots shaping the essence of the tree. Sometimes we need to prune unruly sprouts to keep the tree healthy and balanced….

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