There are plenty of folks happy to tell you how to write better, just as any doctor will tell you to “eat right and exercise.” But changing your writing (or eating) habits only happens when you understand why you do what you do. I can help you with that. That proposal or email you wrote must now compete for…
All day long we read on our various screens. This has vastly increased the demand for content, which comes to us through many channels. But those who create it have forgotten what good writing is. Think back to the world of 1980. The average consumer or businessperson at that time had no email, and there was no Internet. What…
For 20 years, I did the same thing, mostly. I was a technology analyst at Forrester Research from 1995 until last month. If you do one thing for a long time, you should learn from it. My job at Forrester molded my ways of thinking more than anything else I’ve done (save becoming a parent). Perhaps…
The great science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon was once asked why 90% of science fiction was crap. His justification was this: “Yes, 90% of science fiction is crap . . . but 90% of everything is crap.” Sturgeon guessed way low. Any idiot with a keyboard now can and will write and publish in some form, from…
My name is Josh Bernoff and I hate bullshit. So do you. But the difference between us is: I intend to do something about it. After 40 years in academia and the corporate world, I’ve had my fill. I’ve seen it all. Articles from respectable publications full of generalizations and filler. Spurious statistics. Consultants’ reports…
I help companies, organizations, and people to express themselves boldly and clearly. There are two parts to this: I help you to clarify what you actually mean. I help you find the right words to say it. Here are some of the ways that I can help. For more information, email me at josh at bernoff…
I believe that you must aspire to good writing and purge bullshit from your communication. This applies in published material like books and articles, in business writing, in emails, and in spoken communication. This site and all my efforts promote powerful writing and identify and eliminate bullshit. Because I am imperfect, my writing includes instances…