Creature of Habit « KnowHR Blog

Creature of Habit

Nov 17

I’m a creature of habit.

I wake up 5 minutes before my alarm. Always. I put my left shoe on first. Always. I do the NYT crossword puzzle on my train ride into Philadelphia. Always.

As King Mongkut of Siam (Yul Brenner) said, “Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!”

Here’s another habit I have in HR communications: I chop out helping verbs wherever I can. Always. You know what? They don’t help. They make you sound weak and mealy-mouthed.

If you mean something, say it. Think action, don’t cry for help.

Fun Fact: Here’s Harry the Helping Verb’s list of 23 helping verbs.

About the Author

Frank Roche

Frank started IFRACTAL over 7 years ago with Sarah Chambers. Together, they've created HR communications and HR software for some of the world's leading companies. Frank is also studying Flamenco guitar and origami.

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Comments

fran melmed says:

November 17, 2009 at 12:48 pm

and after you’re done chopping, you can saunter over to legal and ask “why is your head higher than mine?!”

f

Reply
- Frank Roche says:
  
  November 17, 2009 at 2:53 pm
  
  @Fran…lol.
  
  Reply

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