Active versus Passive Voice

If you want to deflect the blame off yourself, use the passive voice. ("The shrimp salad became rancid after it was left out in the sun for three hours.")

If you want to blame someone, use the active voice. ("Betsy left the shrimp salad out in the sun for three hours, rendering it rancid.")

Passive: "The ambulance was called."

Active: "Betsy called the ambulance."

By using the passive voice in a memo, you are admitting guilt. Much better to just write the sentence straight on, and take what comes.

(c)2014 Suzann Kale

Tags: active voice, passive voice, business writing, writing styles, syntax

The New Cliches

We're all still writing things like: "In an age where we're all so busy with our cell phones and tablets, we don't get enough time to stop and smell the roses." 

Other contemporary over-used concepts to avoid include:

• multi-tasking
• how multi-tasking doesn't really work
• anything to do with women and their shoes
• how to keep to your New Year's Resolutions
• how fast time goes
• dot to the com
• how computers are ruining our lives
• diet stuff
• how the 1950s was a simpler and/or happier time
• generalizations in general ("Kids today don't ...", "Women bosses are...", "Vitamins don't...")
• "Lobsters don't feel pain when dumped alive into boiling water." (We know this how?).

I'd love to hear your take on cliches that are driving you nuts.

(c)2014 Suzann Kale

Tags: writing styles, business writing, proofreading, cliches