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There is a new phobia haunting us citizens of today’s 24/7 techno society - nomophobia. It means the fear of being out of mobile phone contact.

Apparently, millions of us are so dependent on our mobiles that discovering it is out of power or simply misplacing it sends stress levels soaring.

Thankfully, researchers have suggested some handy tips for minimising the risks of nomophobia: keep your credit topped up, carry a charger, give family and friends an alternative contact number and carry a pre-paid phonecard to make emergency calls if your mobile is broken, lost or stolen. Phew, thanks for those.

Alternatively, you could just switch the darn thing off and, in the words of one of our favourite Depeche Mode songs, enjoy the silence (below).

We’ve been doing some work on headline writing in our workshops recently. It reminded me of the story behind one of our favourite ever headlines:

Inverness Caledonian Thistle (or ‘Caley’), a Scottish football team from the lower divisions (apologies to any Scottish readers), were playing Glasgow Celtic in the cup. This is the equivalent of, say, Northwich Victoria playing Manchester United.

Anyhow, in one of the biggest upsets in Scottish football, Inverness won, against a woeful Celtic, spawning the headline:

‘Super Caley Go Ballistic, Celtic Are Atrocious.’

I bet the journalist who came up with that one has been dining out on it ever since.

Do you know any better ones? If you do, let us know using the comments link below. We’ll be compiling the best ones for a future post.

We love words. After all, that’s why we’re professional business writers. But even we, in the midst of the most exciting project ever, would be hard pressed to match the intensity of this little fella:

A fine example of the power of the written word…I wonder what he’s reading?

Anyone who subscribes to Write Words, our tips newsletter for better writing for business, knows how we feel about conciseness.

Conciseness is the foundation on which all good business writing is built, while wordiness and unnecessary verbosity are the enemies of clear, effective communication.

It’s not only us that say that, honest! Check out this great post on Vigorous Writing by Jesse Hines, another writing blogger waving the flag for better written communication.

Since when did revert mean the same thing as reply? In business communication, the use of ‘revert’ in emails is becoming scarily prevalent - e.g. ‘Please revert as soon as you have obtained a copy of the contract.’

It seems to be a classic case of over-inflated language, deliberately used to try and sound more impressive. Well it doesn’t sound more impressive. It sounds silly. And pompous. And just plain incorrect. What’s the matter with reply? It’s shorter. It’s easily understood. It’s language we use every day.

Does anyone actually use ‘revert’ anywhere other than work? I mean, when was the last time you ‘reverted’ to a letter from your granny? Or used ‘revert’ in a normal, non-work conversation with your pals?

The foundation of effective business writing is clear, concise, simple language. So, please, can we all stop reverting and get back to replying?

Could politicians finally be getting the message that clarity trumps jargon every time?

The Local Government Association (LGA) has issued a list of the 100 most over-used buzzwords, including such gems as “step change”, “holistic” “sustainable” and “synergies”, and asked local councils to stop using them.

LGA chairman Sir Simon Milton said that if councils did not explain things in proper English, “local people will fail to understand its relevance to them or why they should to turn out and vote. Unless information is given to people to explain why their council matters, then local democracy will be threatened with extinction.”

Extinction may be pushing it, but certainly, talking to people in clear, plain English instead of hiding behind buzzwords, jargon and bluster might help retain people’s interest, rather than turning them off politics at both the national and local level.

You may have heard the tale of how, in the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway bet ten dollars that he could write a complete story in just six words. He wrote: “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”  He won the bet and often referred to the story as his best work ever.

There are now dozens of websites devoted to six-word stories (just try Googling it). One of the best, recently featured on Radio 4, is from US online magazine Smith, which tweaked the rules by asking its readers to sum up their own lives in just six words.

The results are surprisingly poignant; often funny (”No more kisses, whisker burn lingers.”), sometimes sad (”Two sons. One died; now none.”), sometimes regretful (”Wishing I’d jumped sooner, missed mark.”), even a little scary (”He seemed ok at the time”). You should try it; we did.

As business copywriters, we’re always banging on about conciseness and short sentences. And while we don’t expect you to turn your firm’s client newsletters, your website or your marketing material into heart-wrenching six-word stories (wouldn’t that be fun, though!), it’s a reminder of just how emotional and powerful words can be, even just six of the little blighters.

So think of that, next time you’re trying to explain to your boss why your ten word sentence is better than his 30-word jargon fest.

Let’s hear it for Richard Pring! The Oxford University professor was cheered at a education conference earlier this month when he called for an end to the  ‘Orwellian’ language often used in education.

The public sector is renowned for its love of jargon-tastic ’strategies’, convoluted policy phrasing and incomprehensible sentences. It’s not just annoying, it betrays a worrying lack of engagement with the reader - which can be a dangerous a thing when you consider that it’s us, the readers, that public servants are supposed to be ’serving’.

In sectors such as education, the risks are even greater, turning something that should be  about effective communication and clarity and sharing knowledge, into a confusing, opaque world that replaces the simple, basic tenets of education with jargon and management-speak.

Pring calls for an end to delivery and a return to teaching. No more new providers, but plenty more new schools. Enough of performance indicators, how about the quality of teaching?

Oxford professors aren’t generally renowned for their straight-talking , but Professor Pring is right on the button. Let’s hope the policy wonks at the education department (and elsewhere) were listening.

Welcome to the Wordsworks blog, the blog that aims to help you improve your business copywriting. We believe that good, clear writing helps you get your organisation’s messages across more effectively and enhances your credibility and your brand. The Blog is for sharing writing tips, tactics, and general musings on business writing. We hope you enjoy it. If you don’t, surf on…