by Ashish Kumar Roy -
There are some beautiful English words that are slowly going out of circulation. If you do a spell check on them you will probably get an error. The word does not exist, the spell checker will tell you. But they did exist in the tomes and diaries of yesteryears. I really do not know why they vanished because the lost English words that I am going to list here are really very evocative and define situations that would be otherwise ineffable. I really miss some of these wonderful words.
First in my list is petrichor. This is a quaint word probably used when the world held more surprises in every turn. The word means the smell of the parched earth after a first shower of rain. We all know this smell. It is so intoxicating. It is a smell that permeates your senses like an becalming intoxicating drug. I am not sure why this word is disappearing from all lexicons. It is really a word that defines a languid mood.
The second word in my list is potvaliant. This word should really be doing the rounds today. This means bravado under the influence of liquor. Such bravado still happens, doesn't it? You have seen glad creatures dragging themselves out of a bar and then picking up a fight with the nearest lamp post. The word evokes memories of the antics of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Don Quixote's fight with the windmills does remind me of the potvaliants. Such loveable creatures! Where have all the good words gone?
The third word in the list is limerence. Now this is a word that may have been overtaken by the twitter world. Limerence means - or use to mean - the first moments of love. Can there be any love-lier word than this? I mean, love's first moments are inexplicable except through limerence. Who has not woken up in the middle of the night feeling limerence all over himself? Some intangible feelings are oh-so tangible, like the shiver of anticipation. Can we please bring back limerence into our lives?
I can however understand why musophobist has become obsolete. Are there still any people around who are suspicious of poetry? That's what a musophobist means: a person who looks at poetry with suspicion. I mean you don't need a word that's not part of the real world. Do you know anyone who is suspicious of poetry? I don't.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/46294
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
How to Avoid Run-On Sentences and Sentence Fragments
by Dr. Sandra Folk -
Possibly the most common English grammar problem people have in business writing is what I think of as "the curse of the run-on sentence." I have clients who send me material filled with run-on sentences.
A run-on sentence does exactly what its name suggests; it "runs on" too long. In fact, it's a mistake to think of a run-on sentence as expressing one thought. What they actually are is two or more sentences strung together with improper punctuation.
York University's Bethune College Writing Centre is a good online English grammar rules resource for determining how run-on sentences work. Here's one simple example of a short, but run-on sentence that I quite like, from their website:
"Gordon laughed at Sandy's joke it was lewd."
Leaving aside the fact that I would never make a lewd joke, (joke!), with the necessary punctuation, the sentence would correctly read:
"Gordon laughed at Sandy's joke; it was lewd."
In this example, the semi colon takes the place of the word "and," joining the two independent sentences together.
Why, you may ask, should run-on sentences be viewed as a "curse?" Here's why: If the sentence turns out to be quite a bit longer than the one that is used in the above example of a run-on sentence and there isn't correct punctuation or maybe it's just that there's too many individual sentences crammed into one it becomes confusing.
Have I made it clear?
If you're someone who suffers the curse of the run-on sentence, you may be wondering at this point how best to escape your fate. Really, it's not that difficult. Simply look at your run on sentences, and incorporate one of the following English grammar rules into your business communications:
Now a quick word about sentence fragments. Like this one. Sentence fragments are easily identified because they're incomplete thoughts that cannot stand by themselves. Complete sentences, at the very least, have a subject and a verb. Here's an example:
Incorrect: All of these rules and regulations should be made aware of.
Correct: Clients should be made aware of all these rules and regulations.
It's true there is a time and a place for sentence fragments - in blog posts, possibly. Blogging is a style of writing that's less formal than business writing generally is. But when it comes to basic business communication, even in this day and age of tweeting and emailing and texting, there is still an expectation that correct English grammar and punctuation rule.
Are you suffering from "the curse of the run on sentence?" Then be sure to follow the four rules listed above.
Dr. Sandra Folk is a Toronto-based educational consultant and award-winning university lecturer. She set up The Language Lab to help business executives and employees write and express themselves more effectively. Find out more about the programs we offer to improve the communication skills of native English speakers and ESL learners at http://thelanguagelab.ca/
Possibly the most common English grammar problem people have in business writing is what I think of as "the curse of the run-on sentence." I have clients who send me material filled with run-on sentences.
A run-on sentence does exactly what its name suggests; it "runs on" too long. In fact, it's a mistake to think of a run-on sentence as expressing one thought. What they actually are is two or more sentences strung together with improper punctuation.
York University's Bethune College Writing Centre is a good online English grammar rules resource for determining how run-on sentences work. Here's one simple example of a short, but run-on sentence that I quite like, from their website:
"Gordon laughed at Sandy's joke it was lewd."
Leaving aside the fact that I would never make a lewd joke, (joke!), with the necessary punctuation, the sentence would correctly read:
"Gordon laughed at Sandy's joke; it was lewd."
In this example, the semi colon takes the place of the word "and," joining the two independent sentences together.
Why, you may ask, should run-on sentences be viewed as a "curse?" Here's why: If the sentence turns out to be quite a bit longer than the one that is used in the above example of a run-on sentence and there isn't correct punctuation or maybe it's just that there's too many individual sentences crammed into one it becomes confusing.
Have I made it clear?
If you're someone who suffers the curse of the run-on sentence, you may be wondering at this point how best to escape your fate. Really, it's not that difficult. Simply look at your run on sentences, and incorporate one of the following English grammar rules into your business communications:
- Create two sentences
- Use a semi-colon
- Use a subordinating conjunction
- Use commas, colons or dashes. (Correctly, of course!)
Now a quick word about sentence fragments. Like this one. Sentence fragments are easily identified because they're incomplete thoughts that cannot stand by themselves. Complete sentences, at the very least, have a subject and a verb. Here's an example:
Incorrect: All of these rules and regulations should be made aware of.
Correct: Clients should be made aware of all these rules and regulations.
It's true there is a time and a place for sentence fragments - in blog posts, possibly. Blogging is a style of writing that's less formal than business writing generally is. But when it comes to basic business communication, even in this day and age of tweeting and emailing and texting, there is still an expectation that correct English grammar and punctuation rule.
Are you suffering from "the curse of the run on sentence?" Then be sure to follow the four rules listed above.
Dr. Sandra Folk is a Toronto-based educational consultant and award-winning university lecturer. She set up The Language Lab to help business executives and employees write and express themselves more effectively. Find out more about the programs we offer to improve the communication skills of native English speakers and ESL learners at http://thelanguagelab.ca/
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Semicolon - Punctuation Nemesis Tamed
by Charlotte Babb -
One of the few concepts taught after fourth grade about writing is the semicolon, that mysterious mis-matched mark of mangled sentences. Some teachers ban its use entirely because some students use it too liberally, as if they had a semicolon shaker to scatter over their compositions. Where then, should you use a semicolon, and why?
Use a semicolon to attach a complete sentence to the end of another complete sentence:
1. when the second sentence is closely related to the first
2. when you want the sentences to have equal weight
3. when you want to elevate the tone of the writing to a more formal stance by using longer sentences.
Sentences joined with a semicolon are said to be "compound" having two equal parts.
The lower half of the semi-colon in a period. It works the same way as a period, showing that the end of a sentence has been reached, and that a new sentence is beginning. It implies that there is a relationship in the ideas of each part; it does not state the nature of that relationship.
The same thing can be accomplished with a comma and a conjunction: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (mnemonic: FANBOYS).
I went to the store. It was closed.
I went to the store; it was closed.
I went to the store, but it was closed.
Usually at this point, another concept is added to the mix: conjunctive adverbs.
A conjunctive adverb shows some relationship between the two equal sentences: however, nevertheless, consequently, therefore. These adverbs are no less evil than any others; therefore, they should be restrained by commas to keep them from contaminating the rest of the sentence. Their lack of grammatical relationship to the other parts of the sentence is shown by the ability to appear in different positions, always separated by a comma:
I went to the store. However, it was closed.
I went to the store; it, however, was closed.
I went to the store; it was, however, closed.
I went to the store; it was closed, however.
Using a semicolon does not require the use of a conjunctive adverb.
Much of the confusion about comma splices and run-on sentences is caused by the confusion of complete sentences with dependent sentences. Dependent sentences form a pattern called "complex" with at least one dependent part and one complete part. As we know from life, unequal partnerships with dependents are always complex.
If you take a perfectly good sentence (I went to the store) and add a dependent word (When) to the beginning, the resulting sentence is no longer independent:
When I went to the store...
You might argue that you could say that as an answer to a question, but the word "when" tells us that more is coming to explain what happened at that time.
A comma is used at the end of this dependent part to let us know that the main part of the sentence is beginning:
When I went to the store, it was closed.
These two sentence parts are not equal, so you would not use a semicolon. In fact, if the first part were at the end of the main part, no comma would be needed because the word "when" announces the next section.
The store was closed when I went to it.
This dependent sentence pattern is the reason students create comma splices (using a comma where only a semicolon may tread). Since students learn the complex pattern first, they sometimes get the idea that only a comma is needed in the middle of a sentence regardless of the meaning or structure. They do not understand that the parts are not equal and independent.
Now that you know the secret code of the semicolon, you are armed with a plan. If you are not sure whether to use the semicolon, use a period to make two sentences. If that works, you can use a semicolon. Then if you wish, you can add a conjunctive adverb and comma after the semicolon like a cherry on top of whipped cream; alternatively, you can use the mundane comma and conjunction.
Just remember to look for a complete sentence on each side of the semicolon.
Looking for more ideas on how to get better grades on your writing or fewer sneers from your colleagues? Visit Charlotte Babb at her website: http://charlottebabb.com Her twenty years of teaching high school and college, online and on ground, have not yet deprived her of hope that everyone can learn to write well.
One of the few concepts taught after fourth grade about writing is the semicolon, that mysterious mis-matched mark of mangled sentences. Some teachers ban its use entirely because some students use it too liberally, as if they had a semicolon shaker to scatter over their compositions. Where then, should you use a semicolon, and why?
Use a semicolon to attach a complete sentence to the end of another complete sentence:
1. when the second sentence is closely related to the first
2. when you want the sentences to have equal weight
3. when you want to elevate the tone of the writing to a more formal stance by using longer sentences.
Sentences joined with a semicolon are said to be "compound" having two equal parts.
The lower half of the semi-colon in a period. It works the same way as a period, showing that the end of a sentence has been reached, and that a new sentence is beginning. It implies that there is a relationship in the ideas of each part; it does not state the nature of that relationship.
The same thing can be accomplished with a comma and a conjunction: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (mnemonic: FANBOYS).
I went to the store. It was closed.
I went to the store; it was closed.
I went to the store, but it was closed.
Usually at this point, another concept is added to the mix: conjunctive adverbs.
A conjunctive adverb shows some relationship between the two equal sentences: however, nevertheless, consequently, therefore. These adverbs are no less evil than any others; therefore, they should be restrained by commas to keep them from contaminating the rest of the sentence. Their lack of grammatical relationship to the other parts of the sentence is shown by the ability to appear in different positions, always separated by a comma:
I went to the store. However, it was closed.
I went to the store; it, however, was closed.
I went to the store; it was, however, closed.
I went to the store; it was closed, however.
Using a semicolon does not require the use of a conjunctive adverb.
Much of the confusion about comma splices and run-on sentences is caused by the confusion of complete sentences with dependent sentences. Dependent sentences form a pattern called "complex" with at least one dependent part and one complete part. As we know from life, unequal partnerships with dependents are always complex.
If you take a perfectly good sentence (I went to the store) and add a dependent word (When) to the beginning, the resulting sentence is no longer independent:
When I went to the store...
You might argue that you could say that as an answer to a question, but the word "when" tells us that more is coming to explain what happened at that time.
A comma is used at the end of this dependent part to let us know that the main part of the sentence is beginning:
When I went to the store, it was closed.
These two sentence parts are not equal, so you would not use a semicolon. In fact, if the first part were at the end of the main part, no comma would be needed because the word "when" announces the next section.
The store was closed when I went to it.
This dependent sentence pattern is the reason students create comma splices (using a comma where only a semicolon may tread). Since students learn the complex pattern first, they sometimes get the idea that only a comma is needed in the middle of a sentence regardless of the meaning or structure. They do not understand that the parts are not equal and independent.
Now that you know the secret code of the semicolon, you are armed with a plan. If you are not sure whether to use the semicolon, use a period to make two sentences. If that works, you can use a semicolon. Then if you wish, you can add a conjunctive adverb and comma after the semicolon like a cherry on top of whipped cream; alternatively, you can use the mundane comma and conjunction.
Just remember to look for a complete sentence on each side of the semicolon.
Looking for more ideas on how to get better grades on your writing or fewer sneers from your colleagues? Visit Charlotte Babb at her website: http://charlottebabb.com Her twenty years of teaching high school and college, online and on ground, have not yet deprived her of hope that everyone can learn to write well.
Freelance Copywriter Secrets: The Cure For The Boring Corporate Newsletter
by Charles Brown -
As a freelance copywriter, I often find myself borrowing the techniques from one type of project to solve a problem I encounter in another. This is an article I originally wrote in 2005 to show how the techniques used in speech writing can be adapted to something else entirely.
What follows is not exactly a true story, but it comes close:
Roger was in a state of near panic. He had come out of his office to investigate the cacophony of unanswered telephones ringing throughout the office, and had been met with a horrible sight.
Everywhere he looked, he saw his employees slumped over their desks asleep or staring off into space, as if they had suddenly been struck comatose.
Not a single employee in his entire department appeared to be conscious, and all the while the ringing telephones continued unanswered.
Had some deadly virus suddenly struck his entire staff? Had a toxic gas come through the office ventilation system?
Roger had no idea what could be causing this horror, but he knew that he had to call 911 fast. As he rushed back to his office he saw his secretary slumped over her keyboard.
Suddenly he saw what she was holding in her almost-lifeless fingers.
It wasn't a disease. It wasn't a toxic gas that was causing all his people to fall into this stupor. It was something far, far worse.
Today was the day the corporation's internal company newsletter had been distributed to each employee.
There is no law that says internal corporate communications must be boring.
But you would almost think so wouldn't you? As you look through a lot of internal newsletters and other corporate communications pieces, it almost seems some writers are afraid they will wind up doing hard time with an overly-tattooed cellmate named Bruno if they anything out of the ordinary appears in their writing.
Not true.
I think the problem comes from attempting to apply traditional journalistic methods within the confined context of an internal communication. Straight news reporting is fine if you have a steady flow of really dramatic stories like the grandmother who foiled a home invader, the latest national security crises, or a winning professional sports team as material.
But if your subject matter is confined to the happenings within a specific company or industry, you may not have all that drama to rely on traditional journalistic methods. You may have to add a dose of creativity.
Use Good Speechwriters' Methods
A speechwriter, trainer, presenter or any other type of speaker has a very similar problem as a corporate communications writer. How to convey a lot of factual information and ideas, without putting the audience to sleep. Here are a few techniques used by speakers to balance factual content with style and (dare I use the word) "entertainment."
Humor. Humor can be dangerous in advertising or external communications, but generally, depending on your corporate culture, you may have more freedom to use humor internally. It goes without saying that humor can backfire on you in many ways if you are not careful, so use good judgment and get a second opinion before going to print.
Keep a humor file of amusing anecdotes, cartoons and photos that you can secure the rights to publish. Also, be on the lookout for the truly funny human beings that populate your workplace. Stories about these funny coworkers will do double duty as a humor piece and as an article where employees can read about one of their own. You can also solicit funny captions for photos and other ideas from the readers. Let your employees write your humor pieces for you.
Second Person When a speaker or writer addresses the listener or reader in the second person, she involves her audience. But even more, writing in the second person practically forces her to find ways to personalize her message and address the concerns and needs of her audience in every way she can think of.
Notice that after my introduction about Roger, I have used the second person to present all of my information, ideas and opinions since. Because I am not writing to a nameless "readership," I am writing to you, as an individual, and my mind is forcing me to explore ways to write about what you want to learn. Try second person writing on your corporate communications writing and see how it affects your creative process, as well as your readers' involvement.
Stories. A study of Readers' Digest magazine revealed that over half of its articles begin with a story, anecdote or narrative of some kind. Surveys of audiences have repeatedly concluded that speakers who scatter stories and anecdotes and stories throughout their presentations hold their hearers' attentions far better than speakers who bury them under a truckload of facts and information.
I made up the story about Roger because I wanted a way to illustrate the difficulty internal newsletter writers have in communicating their messages in an interesting manner. Stories not only hold your readers' fascination, they also convey your point with great power. Create your story by simply asking "what if" about the major problem you wish to address.
Build Curiosity. Curiosity, suspense, drama; they can all be added to even the most mundane subjects if you know how. Check out another article I wrote called, Freelance Copywriter Secrets: The Magic Bullet for Powerful Copywriting for ideas on how to build curiosity.
Turn Numbers Into Vivid Images. By its very nature, internal communications within an organization tends to be heavy on the statistics, earnings reports and other number-oriented material. But there are still ways to present your numbers without having your readers go into a stupor. Illustrate numbers with examples. If one employee out of 100 takes advantage of the company's tuition assistance program, interview that employee and tell her story. If the company lost $163,199 last quarter because of employee absenteeism, show how many new employees could have been hired for that amount to ease everyone's workload.
This is just a brief list of ideas, but I would encourage you to adopt the methods used by speakers and trainers to involve their audiences more. You will find a wealth of ideas that can easily be adapted to your internal corporate communications. In the meantime, please help Roger wake up his employees.
COPYRIGHT © 2005,2006, Charles H. Brown
Download your free copy of 99 Ideas For Writing Irresistible Web Content, written by Charles Brown, a Dallas, Texas based freelance copywriter who writes web copy, advertisements, white papers and direct mail. Read his "Freelance Copywriter Secrets" at http://dynamiccopywriting.blogspot.com or contact him at 817.715.3852 or **charbrow@gmail.com**.
As a freelance copywriter, I often find myself borrowing the techniques from one type of project to solve a problem I encounter in another. This is an article I originally wrote in 2005 to show how the techniques used in speech writing can be adapted to something else entirely.
What follows is not exactly a true story, but it comes close:
Roger was in a state of near panic. He had come out of his office to investigate the cacophony of unanswered telephones ringing throughout the office, and had been met with a horrible sight.
Everywhere he looked, he saw his employees slumped over their desks asleep or staring off into space, as if they had suddenly been struck comatose.
Not a single employee in his entire department appeared to be conscious, and all the while the ringing telephones continued unanswered.
Had some deadly virus suddenly struck his entire staff? Had a toxic gas come through the office ventilation system?
Roger had no idea what could be causing this horror, but he knew that he had to call 911 fast. As he rushed back to his office he saw his secretary slumped over her keyboard.
Suddenly he saw what she was holding in her almost-lifeless fingers.
It wasn't a disease. It wasn't a toxic gas that was causing all his people to fall into this stupor. It was something far, far worse.
Today was the day the corporation's internal company newsletter had been distributed to each employee.
There is no law that says internal corporate communications must be boring.
But you would almost think so wouldn't you? As you look through a lot of internal newsletters and other corporate communications pieces, it almost seems some writers are afraid they will wind up doing hard time with an overly-tattooed cellmate named Bruno if they anything out of the ordinary appears in their writing.
Not true.
I think the problem comes from attempting to apply traditional journalistic methods within the confined context of an internal communication. Straight news reporting is fine if you have a steady flow of really dramatic stories like the grandmother who foiled a home invader, the latest national security crises, or a winning professional sports team as material.
But if your subject matter is confined to the happenings within a specific company or industry, you may not have all that drama to rely on traditional journalistic methods. You may have to add a dose of creativity.
Use Good Speechwriters' Methods
A speechwriter, trainer, presenter or any other type of speaker has a very similar problem as a corporate communications writer. How to convey a lot of factual information and ideas, without putting the audience to sleep. Here are a few techniques used by speakers to balance factual content with style and (dare I use the word) "entertainment."
Humor. Humor can be dangerous in advertising or external communications, but generally, depending on your corporate culture, you may have more freedom to use humor internally. It goes without saying that humor can backfire on you in many ways if you are not careful, so use good judgment and get a second opinion before going to print.
Keep a humor file of amusing anecdotes, cartoons and photos that you can secure the rights to publish. Also, be on the lookout for the truly funny human beings that populate your workplace. Stories about these funny coworkers will do double duty as a humor piece and as an article where employees can read about one of their own. You can also solicit funny captions for photos and other ideas from the readers. Let your employees write your humor pieces for you.
Second Person When a speaker or writer addresses the listener or reader in the second person, she involves her audience. But even more, writing in the second person practically forces her to find ways to personalize her message and address the concerns and needs of her audience in every way she can think of.
Notice that after my introduction about Roger, I have used the second person to present all of my information, ideas and opinions since. Because I am not writing to a nameless "readership," I am writing to you, as an individual, and my mind is forcing me to explore ways to write about what you want to learn. Try second person writing on your corporate communications writing and see how it affects your creative process, as well as your readers' involvement.
Stories. A study of Readers' Digest magazine revealed that over half of its articles begin with a story, anecdote or narrative of some kind. Surveys of audiences have repeatedly concluded that speakers who scatter stories and anecdotes and stories throughout their presentations hold their hearers' attentions far better than speakers who bury them under a truckload of facts and information.
I made up the story about Roger because I wanted a way to illustrate the difficulty internal newsletter writers have in communicating their messages in an interesting manner. Stories not only hold your readers' fascination, they also convey your point with great power. Create your story by simply asking "what if" about the major problem you wish to address.
Build Curiosity. Curiosity, suspense, drama; they can all be added to even the most mundane subjects if you know how. Check out another article I wrote called, Freelance Copywriter Secrets: The Magic Bullet for Powerful Copywriting for ideas on how to build curiosity.
Turn Numbers Into Vivid Images. By its very nature, internal communications within an organization tends to be heavy on the statistics, earnings reports and other number-oriented material. But there are still ways to present your numbers without having your readers go into a stupor. Illustrate numbers with examples. If one employee out of 100 takes advantage of the company's tuition assistance program, interview that employee and tell her story. If the company lost $163,199 last quarter because of employee absenteeism, show how many new employees could have been hired for that amount to ease everyone's workload.
This is just a brief list of ideas, but I would encourage you to adopt the methods used by speakers and trainers to involve their audiences more. You will find a wealth of ideas that can easily be adapted to your internal corporate communications. In the meantime, please help Roger wake up his employees.
COPYRIGHT © 2005,2006, Charles H. Brown
Download your free copy of 99 Ideas For Writing Irresistible Web Content, written by Charles Brown, a Dallas, Texas based freelance copywriter who writes web copy, advertisements, white papers and direct mail. Read his "Freelance Copywriter Secrets" at http://dynamiccopywriting.blogspot.com or contact him at 817.715.3852 or **charbrow@gmail.com**.
Writing A Personal Mission Statement - Corporate Lesson #1
by Mark McClure -
If you have never written an inspiring and effective personal mission statement but really want to do so, you should aim to build the following 3 qualities into yours: Vision, Focus and Brevity .
In this series of articles I will examine the published mission statements of well known corporations with the above qualities in mind. There is a lot to learn from how professional corporate image and brand builders go about their work.
Also, for a bit of educational fun, I will not name these corporations in the main body of the articles. If their mission statements are concise and relevant you should be able to guess them correctly - the answers for each corporation are at the bottom of the appropriate article. No peeking beforehand!
I used the internet 'wayback' archive machine to look up the mission statement from the year 2002. You can find it at this location: http://www.archive.org/
The August 2007 mission statement was located on the corporation's public website.
1- Corporation 'A'
2002: 'A's mission is to deliver the best search experience on the Internet by making the world's information universally accessible and useful.
2007: 'A's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Now would you say that 'A's mission statement has expanded in scope from the 2002 version? Their business certainly continues to grow and prosper. You may even have used their services to find this article on the Internet!
From a coaching perspective I especially like the 2007 mission statement because they have clearly refined and expanded their vision and focus from that of 5 years ago - and replaced the reference to 'delivering the best search experience' with the visionary challenge of organizing all the world's information!
And their mission statement is also shorter - from an effective 17 to 11 words.
I like 10 words or less - nearly there guys and gals ;-)
When you create your own personal mission statement it is OK to start off with a couple of sentences. Leave it for a few days and then come back and reduce the word count as corporation 'A' has so powerfully done.
Getting it to 10 words or less can be done but may take time as your ideas and copy writing abilities evolve. Allow that to happen.
Start by editing it to 15 words or less - this implies a single sentence, starting with a verb. For example, "Your mission is to..."; and replace 'Your' with your actual name. You can get more detail on how to do this by reading my personal mission statement article.
OK - have you worked out the identity of corporation 'A'?
Answer: This is the mission statement of the Google Corporation. (www.google.com)
If you guessed it right away then that is a compliment to both the branding and the business success of Google Inc.
For more on writing personal mission statements and goals, download my FREE report: "Discover How To Create Incredible Yet Reachable Goals": Goal Setting Report
Read personal development, coaching and goal setting articles here: http://www.goalcreationmaps.com/art
Mark McClure is a Certified Career & Life coach and Internet Business Owner.
If you have never written an inspiring and effective personal mission statement but really want to do so, you should aim to build the following 3 qualities into yours: Vision, Focus and Brevity .
In this series of articles I will examine the published mission statements of well known corporations with the above qualities in mind. There is a lot to learn from how professional corporate image and brand builders go about their work.
Also, for a bit of educational fun, I will not name these corporations in the main body of the articles. If their mission statements are concise and relevant you should be able to guess them correctly - the answers for each corporation are at the bottom of the appropriate article. No peeking beforehand!
I used the internet 'wayback' archive machine to look up the mission statement from the year 2002. You can find it at this location: http://www.archive.org/
The August 2007 mission statement was located on the corporation's public website.
1- Corporation 'A'
2002: 'A's mission is to deliver the best search experience on the Internet by making the world's information universally accessible and useful.
2007: 'A's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Now would you say that 'A's mission statement has expanded in scope from the 2002 version? Their business certainly continues to grow and prosper. You may even have used their services to find this article on the Internet!
From a coaching perspective I especially like the 2007 mission statement because they have clearly refined and expanded their vision and focus from that of 5 years ago - and replaced the reference to 'delivering the best search experience' with the visionary challenge of organizing all the world's information!
And their mission statement is also shorter - from an effective 17 to 11 words.
I like 10 words or less - nearly there guys and gals ;-)
When you create your own personal mission statement it is OK to start off with a couple of sentences. Leave it for a few days and then come back and reduce the word count as corporation 'A' has so powerfully done.
Getting it to 10 words or less can be done but may take time as your ideas and copy writing abilities evolve. Allow that to happen.
Start by editing it to 15 words or less - this implies a single sentence, starting with a verb. For example, "Your mission is to..."; and replace 'Your' with your actual name. You can get more detail on how to do this by reading my personal mission statement article.
OK - have you worked out the identity of corporation 'A'?
Answer: This is the mission statement of the Google Corporation. (www.google.com)
If you guessed it right away then that is a compliment to both the branding and the business success of Google Inc.
For more on writing personal mission statements and goals, download my FREE report: "Discover How To Create Incredible Yet Reachable Goals": Goal Setting Report
Read personal development, coaching and goal setting articles here: http://www.goalcreationmaps.com/art
Mark McClure is a Certified Career & Life coach and Internet Business Owner.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)