“A website for anyone who ever thinks about
writing and speaking clearly …”
This website is about writing clearly and delivering high-quality presentations to an audience. At school, I hated doing both. Every essay, every comprehension and every presentation I made to the class was a struggle. Looking back, I think my teachers must have dreaded reading what I wrote, and hearing my presentations, ev
This website will appeal to everyone who wants to read about making a point clearly and persuasively … in print, on a web page or when speaking … perhaps in business, to a business or nothing at all to do with business … writing to someone important or about something you consider important … in an email, a letter, a blog or on social networks … in a sales message, a job application, or just trying to get noticed in a crowd … with humour or with complete seriousness.
“… it’s also a website that aims to be fun”
Writing and speaking have become central to my work and my life. The transition started for me when I was in a job that entailed drafting reports that needed to be exceptionally clear and very precise (or, as some would say, “” ()). But I quickly moved on to writing for enjoyment – mine and other people’s – at work, in my personal life and in the guest columns of newspapers and professional journals. I still return to the precision-writing from time to time when my work calls for it. I love the occasional challenge set by a client who needs me to write something that is crystal clear at the same time as being precise and, above all, persuasive.
I had a lot of fun creating this website and I’ve done my level best to ensure that you have even more fun reading it. The site is punctuated with videos that reinforce the narrative. Video input includes material from Jerry Seinfeld, Greta Thunberg, Rachel from Friends, Tony Blair and a dance coach who prised his way onto these pages through the sheer force of his personality. Look out for them!
Natasha North 1You can view the full video
Whenever you see a link on this website, followed by this video-play icon (), the link should open up a video box within the existing browser window.
You can choose from several routes through this website. Most obviously, you can start at the beginning and make your way sequentially through the Contents (), just like reading a book. Also, in the right-hand margin (or at the bottom of the page if you are viewing this on a handheld device), there are four main themes () to select from and a range of keys words () you can click on. So let’s get started …
Eagle-eyed readers returning to this website may notice some changes (with effect from August 2022). They are almost entirely presentational and to assist search engines in finding material. The first six sections of the site have new names and so too the titles of the “main themes”, but the content is unaltered apart from the tiniest of tweaks and, importantly, the URLs remain the same so that any links that you may have saved or shared with other people remain valid (and, if you haven’t shared any, why not do so?). This “Home” page is also a little different.