I recently received the most buzzword-laden promotional email I’d ever seen. Perfect fodder for this site. But then . . . I clicked through and noticed it was from a friend’s firm. I was torn. This piece deserves analysis. And they had clearly sent it to a large mailing list (one I hadn’t signed up…
In a layoff, a company gets rid of people to boost profits. Everyone knows it; no one ever actually says it. Except Elon Musk. Rather than using corporate layoff doublespeak like downsize, rightsize, and RIF (reduction in force), why not tell the truth? Take a look at what Musk said and how he said it. Tesla’s stock price took a…
The chief law enforcement officer at Syracuse University sent an email to everyone to tell them not to be afraid. This obscured the real purpose of the email, which was to cover his ass while not saying anything at all. Here’s the email that my friend got. I’ll highlight the weasel words and passive voice…
We can now see the email that publicist Rob Goldstone sent to Donald Trump Jr. on June 3 of last year, promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. It follows my email principles; it’s short, direct, fact-based, and relevant to the recipient. And sure enough, it got the meeting. Let’s deconstruct it, as well as Trump, Jr.’s…