Grammar Rules for the Unenlightened; Or, How to Write Good
Tim Berry’s recent blog on Equity Ownership rules stresses the importance of getting it in writing. And equally important is writing it clearly. We are all rather casual in our day-to-day conversations where we imply and infer much from nuances in voice tone, body posture, gestures, context, etc.
That casual, and often sloppy, communication, when applied to written agreements has ruined many businesses, partnerships, and friendships.
Editor Sara Prentice Manela sent me this list of humorous, yet concise set of grammar rules. Use them to improve your business writing. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Don’t use no double negatives. Don’t never use no triple negatives.
- No sentence fragments
- Corollary: Complete sentences: important.
- Take care that your verb and subject is in agreement.
- Keep your ear to the grindstone, your nose to the ground, take the bull by the horns of a dilemma, and stop mixing your metaphors.
My thanks to Paul Hensel at Florida State University for the original webpage.
Steve Lange
Senior Editor
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I chuckled with this list. When we assess business writing with our PowerSuasion Assessment, we often see these simple principles violated…or was it affirmed, since I’m not sure what a double negative rule would be as a positive.
I chuckled with this list. When we assess business writing with our PowerSuasion Assessment, we often see these simple principles violated…or was it affirmed, since I’m not sure what a double negative rule would be as a positive.
I’m heartened to see that advisors and consultants such as the folks at PowerSuasion are helping entrepreneurs with their business communications and not just crunching the numbers in the financials.
[...] Grammar Rules! We are all rather casual in our day-to-day conversations where we imply and infer much from nuances in voice tone, body posture, gestures, context, etc., but when applied to written documents, this habit has ruined many businesses, partnerships, and friendships. [...]