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	<title>SHIFTid &#187; writing</title>
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	<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog</link>
	<description>Thinkshift blog on communications &#38; sustainability</description>
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		<title>Tips for Writing Better Bios</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2010/04/23/tips-for-writing-better-bios/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2010/04/23/tips-for-writing-better-bios/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:35:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Stewart</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=443</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve been working with clients lately on bios/profiles for websites and backgrounders, and it&#8217;s reminded me of how difficult it is for most people to write about themselves—or even get comfortable with what someone else writes about them.
Faced with a bio request, people often retreat to the safe familiarity of resume-style recitations: jobs,  accomplishments, education. [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Getting Over the Obsession with Word Repetition</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2010/03/08/obsession-over-word-repetition/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2010/03/08/obsession-over-word-repetition/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:04:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Stewart</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=405</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I usually blog about bigger-picture communications strategy issues, but my alter ego the Grammar Queen has been fighting to get out over the weird obsession with word repetition.
We hear from clients all the time, when reviewing all kinds of writing—articles, marketing copy, taglines—&#8221;But isn&#8217;t it bad to repeat a word?&#8221; Sometimes it is. Sometimes it&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lack of Clarity Can Mean Lack of Credibility</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2009/11/02/lack-of-clarity-can-mean-lack-of-credibility/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2009/11/02/lack-of-clarity-can-mean-lack-of-credibility/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:53:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Stewart</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credibility Quotient]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clean tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=350</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We love engineers. We work with a lot of them, and appreciate their analytical minds and openness to well-supported suggestions. But engineers should not be writing marketing copy. Alas, in the world of clean tech (and sometimes other sustainability sectors) it seems they often do.
The result for most readers is a lack of clarity. Symptoms [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2009/11/02/lack-of-clarity-can-mean-lack-of-credibility/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bad Language: Why &#8216;Consumer&#8217; Should Get the Boot</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2009/08/03/bad-language-why-consumer-should-get-the-boot/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2009/08/03/bad-language-why-consumer-should-get-the-boot/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:47:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Stewart</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[behavior change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[persuasion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=275</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I like to work myself into a good froth before posting one of an occasional series of rants on words and phrases that make me want to spit nails. And I&#8217;m finally there on consumer, used to identify a person or people (as opposed to business jargon for a market sector).
In fact, I&#8217;ve stewed over [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<title>Don’t Tempt Me</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/07/22/don%e2%80%99t-tempt-me/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/07/22/don%e2%80%99t-tempt-me/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Stewart</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[communications strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=19</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it &#8230; I can resist everything but temptation.” —Oscar Wilde
It’s tempting to cram everything that can be said about your product, program, or service into every communication about it. That way, you can satisfy all the internal agendas and answer any question that [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Trying to Connect? Be Human</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/07/08/trying-to-connect-be-human/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/07/08/trying-to-connect-be-human/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:29:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Stewart</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[communications strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=15</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Using a human voice (rather than an institutional one) is among the surest ways to stand out from the crowd, deliver a fresh-sounding message, and enhance your credibility. And that voice—personable, direct, empathetic—comes naturally to most of us; it’s the way we converse. So why don’t more organizations use it?
Robospeak Rules
For many organizations, the chief [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Credibility Counts. Do You Have It?</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/06/22/credibility-counts-do-you-have-it/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/06/22/credibility-counts-do-you-have-it/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:44:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Stewart</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[communications strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=16</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Your audience is uncritical and unquestioning—they’ll believe anything anyone tells them. They never notice problems—if you pretend nothing’s wrong, they’ll be happily oblivious. Plus, they’re semiliterate and ignorant of most facts, so carefully edited com­munications are lost on them.
Offended? You should be. Yet many organizations unknowingly deliver these insults—which means their audience is offended (or [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/06/22/credibility-counts-do-you-have-it/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What You Say, What They Hear</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/06/19/what-you-say-what-they-hear/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/06/19/what-you-say-what-they-hear/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:48:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Stewart</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[communications strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jargon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[messaging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=17</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Most organizations have an internal language—a patois of professional jargon, insider concepts, and in-house categories. And it should stay internal. Alas, too many broadcast their group-speak to an uncomprehending public through websites and collateral materials that attempt to persuade but often baffle.
It reminds us of a famous Far Side cartoon in which a man is [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/06/19/what-you-say-what-they-hear/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Write for an Attention-Deficit Age</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/06/12/write-for-an-attention-deficit-age/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/06/12/write-for-an-attention-deficit-age/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:56:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Carolyn McMaster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[communications strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[credibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jargon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Websites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=12</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
We could spend all day disproving the notion that nobody reads anymore, but it is true that in our multitasking, information-overload world, it’s harder to attract and hold a business audience than it once was. Here are a few tips to grab attention in an attention-deficit age:
Break the mold. Examine how similar organizations communicate, and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/06/12/write-for-an-attention-deficit-age/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Art of Making People Care</title>
		<link>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/05/27/the-art-of-making-people-care/</link>
		<comments>http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/2008/05/27/the-art-of-making-people-care/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 May 2008 02:14:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Carolyn McMaster</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[communications strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.thinkshiftcom.com/blog/?p=8</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
You’ve got it all going on: carefully crafted position papers, an e-mail activist network, troubling statistics, an encyclopedic Web site, a passionate staff. So why haven’t you changed the world yet? Maybe your key audiences don’t care—or don’t care enough.
After all, they’re not nursing your particular outrage hangover every morning. They have other problems. Tap [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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