Finding the right writing tone

Finding the right tone for your writing can sometimes feel tricky, especially in professional contexts, and especially if you regularly switch your writing for different audiences or forms. Often advice about tone is focused on the intent of your writing, or your audience’s needs, or even the expectations around the writing genre or form. And […]

Should you think about your reader in your writing process?

What’s the best way to think about your reader when you’re in the middle of your writing process?   Should you think about your reader? And if you should, how might you go about doing that? My short answer is: it depends. It depends a lot on the type of writing you are doing. To […]

Sometimes ‘less is more’ when designing a good presentation

I was chatting with a former student recently about giving a guest lecture.  As a new grad student, he was in the throes of preparing to give his first and was asking for advice (so exciting!).   My big overarching message to him: Less is more. For reals.   I see a whole lotta “more is more” […]

Why writing in one sitting can overwhelm you

(but you have options!) Imagine trying to cook a full-course meal in one go—without prepping ingredients, measuring anything, or even turning on the stove first. Overwhelming, right? The same can be said for writing.    Maybe you know that writing is an awesome and powerful thing, but you also kind of dread it.  And maybe you […]

Design a session that will knock their socks off

You’ve been invited to give a guest lecture/workshop/presentation (yay!) but the prospect causes you to break into sweats (ack!). The good news is that people think highly of you and value your expertise – they have invited you to share your awesomeness!  And the other good news is that you don’t have to cram all […]