Word(s) of the year
The Oxford English Dictionary has announced its Word of the Year.
Or, rather, 'Words' of the year.
For the first time, there are so many contenders, they've had to expand the selection. Not one word, but many.
They described 'seismic shifts in language data' over the past 12 months.
So what did they pick?
Pandemic, bushfires, Covid-19, WFH, lockdown, circuit-breaker, support bubbles, keyworkers, furlough, Black Lives Matter and moonshot.
The words 'mute' and 'unmute'. Of course.
Staycation, 'remote' and 'remotely'.
Looking back, it is astonishing how many new words became part of our everyday in 2020.
Not least of which is 'unprecedented'.
You can read all about the 2020 words of the year in a BBC report, or one by the Guardian.
Wouldn't it be great to have just one word of the year next year? 2013's 'selfie'. Or 2018's 'toxic'.
Ah, for a simpler life.
Onto the stuff that got my attention this week.
Hiring a copywriter
A nice article from Business 2 Community.
It lists the things to think about when hiring a copywriter.
It's about hiring a copywriter for a technology brief. But I reckon these are just as true for any task.
The first two points, about 'knowledge of your industry' and 'understanding your audience' are obvious.
Point three, though, is good. If they call themselves a wordsmith, 'run a mile' they say. You want someone who raves on about data, buyer journey and conversion.
Spot on, there.
Point six (yes, I know the title of the piece says five): responsiveness. Yikes.
'Copywriters tend to be introverted. This is a useful trait when it comes to spending hours alone writing copy. But client communications may fall to the wayside.'
Can I apologise to all my clients, now? Guilty as sin on that one.
Presentation skills
So, this is a long read. But well worth it.
A guide from Emphasis on how to develop and build a presentation. Then deliver it - as the title says, even deliver it remotely.
It starts off by getting you to think about your audience. Then how to structure the presentation.
I like their points about finding the right words. 'Presentations are not reports that can be reread – the audience has to understand what you are saying in the moment.'
They provide four types of introductions: news, anecdotal, surprise and historical.
There's some really nice stuff about one message per slide, keep slide content short.
And it ends with some practical tips for presenting online.
Best article I've seen on the topic.
My bro
My brother's had a piece of his organ music published.
He's been a musician all his life, and had works published before.
This is his latest.
Proud of him.
Webinars
Remote learning: copywriting courses, by remote. Got an internet connection? You can learn. Pick your topic, then contact me Nice idea, Jon ... >
QotW
Quote of the week:
'Good advertising is written from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions it rarely moves anyone.' Fairfax M. Cone
Next workshops
• Maximum Copy: online and in-house
• Copy Ninja: the craft via Zoom, Webex, Teams, GoTo
• Writing for Digital: about the web, over the web
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