Category Archives: Business writing

Sin of omission?

Posted on May 2, 2013 by

I was listening at lunchtime yesterday to the BBC’s director of human resources being grilled about bullying and the ‘strong undercurrent of fear’ uncovered at the corporation by its recent Respect at Work review. The interviewer suggested that the human … Continue reading →

Posted in Business speak, Business writing, Corporate communication, Jargon, Language, Leadership, Management speak | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Tennis elbow

Posted on March 8, 2013 by

This is a bit of an experiment. I’ve got mild tennis elbow and I’m trying to give my arm a rest, so I’m dictating via the voice recognition software that I’ve used over the last few years when writing books. … Continue reading →

Posted in Business writing, Fiction, Language, Music, Stories, Writing | 11 Comments

Let the meaning choose the word

Posted on February 1, 2013 by

In 1946, George Orwell wrote of the English language: “It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” He was speaking, in the main, … Continue reading →

Posted in Business speak, Business writing, Corporate communication, Dark Angels, Jargon, Language | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Love-hate (part 1)

Posted on October 20, 2012 by

There has been much talk of independence on the Dark Angels course this week. Location has a lot to do with it. Our venue, Moniack Mhor, the Arvon Foundation writers’ centre, is perched on a hilltop just above Loch Ness with … Continue reading →

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Tales of passion

Posted on October 11, 2012 by

On the second night of our recent Dark Angels advanced course in Spain, once they had all settled in, we decided to ask the eight students to take just a couple of minutes after dinner to say why they had … Continue reading →

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Spell-binding

Posted on October 4, 2012 by

Extraordinary things happen on Dark Angels courses. That is because the people who come on them are extraordinary. In truth, everyone is extraordinary if only given the chance to be him or herself. And that is perhaps the most unfathomable … Continue reading →

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The Day Of The Door

Posted on May 4, 2012 by

On Monday evening as I walked round the Other Worlds exhibition at Oxford’s Story Museum and marveled at the creativity that had gone into the 25 installations, the thought I kept returning to was the astonishing power of our imaginations … Continue reading →

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Other Worlds

Posted on April 26, 2012 by

This coming Monday evening the whole of Rochester House, the old Oxford central telephone exchange and mail sorting office, will come alive after many years of disuse. Its three rambling, empty buildings, linked around a courtyard, will fill with people … Continue reading →

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Into the light

Posted on March 22, 2012 by

Today I felt like a bear emerging from hibernation. I left the house at six-thirty to catch the early Edinburgh train. It was a crystal clear morning, fields and roofs dusted with a light frost. Cock pheasants preened themselves in … Continue reading →

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Who cares wins

Posted on December 1, 2011 by

Christie Watson must be very pleased. Her book, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, about a Muslim family in Lagos, has been shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Prize. Perhaps she has an advantage. She’s a graduate of the famous University of … Continue reading →

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