Polish artist Gosia Herba works as an illustrator and writes children’s books and graphic novels. For those who can’t get enough of her inimitable style, Herba’s Instagram account gives a sneak peek into her current works in progress, as well as offering regular trips into her back catalogue. Follow Herba for a daily dose of cuteness, featuring cartoon animals and weird cubist…
Greeting and Introduction Tip #1: Formality Listen carefully to how your business partners greet you. In those first two or three sentences, they are telling you how formal or informal they would like the relationship to be. Use a formal approach when you do not know the other person, or where formality is expected in…
“Advice” or “Advise”? Advice is a noun and means a suggestion about what someone should do. It is uncountable: Correct: She gave good advice. Incorrect: Let me give you an advice If we want to use advice in a countable way, then we use the phrase a piece of advice: Example: I have two pieces of advice for you about the holiday.…
Today’s Word of the Day is: “malaise” (n.) Translation: Недомогание, дискомфорт Meaning: A general feeling of bad health, or lack of energy in a person, group, or society. Example: She suffered from a malaise that kept her from enjoying the party. Synonym: unease, melancholy
Listening to people talk about their dreams might be boring, but seeing them illustrated makes them suddenly fascinating. People say that even though it’s fun to retell your dreams to people, it’s usually not as interesting to listen — unless you were featured in the dream, that is. The Instagram account @nine.coma, founded by Yandex’s…
Writing Effective Emails Tip #4: Signing off Always sign off your email with a reminder of the action required, then a polite greeting. It is a good idea to ask people to phone you (and include your phone number) if they cannot take the action or if they wish to discuss anything. Follow this with…
Punctuating coordinating conjunctions correctly; put a comma before Use a comma before the word “but” if it is joining two independent clauses: Incorrect: Sophia is a good singer but she is an even better dancer Correct: Sophia is a good singer, but she is an even better dancer. If but is not joining two independent…
Today’s Word of the Day is: “to talk shop” (id.) to talk shop (id.) Translation: говорить о работе Meaning: to talk about your job when not at work. Example: Everybody at the company gathering decided that they would not talk shop during the dinner. Synonym: to talk business
Is your Instagram feed overdue an injection of warmth? We might have the solution. Follow @vskafandre, a Ukrainian illustrator whose drawings went viral last year. The series of illustrations that first caught the attention of the public were about the tender relationship the artist, whose real name is Snezhana Soosh, wishes she had with her…
Writing Effective Emails Tip #3: The Body There are three main aspects to this: structure, content, and tone. Structure: It is a good idea to take a bit of time to ensure that the structure makes your text easier to read, and particularly that it enables recipients to scan through quickly and pick out the…