Today's coffee chat is with David Coe. David is an accomplished presenter, author, editor, animation producer, and script writer who quickly gets to the intellectual and emotional core of a business case. He's also the author of "1,101 Words2Watch", a great resource for writers everywhere.
And finally, someone else who drinks coffee! Read earlier coffee chats if you want to know what I'm talking about.
Welcome David,
DL: Firstly, since this a virtual coffee chat, how do you have your coffee?
DAVID: Latte please
DL: Are you a morning or afternoon person?
DAVID: Afternoon
DL: As a man of communication, which do you think is more powerful - words or images?
DAVID: The brain engaging first with images rather than words. The words should underpin the message of the visual. If the words come first, the brain tends to skip over them without engaging deeply.
DL: I think the written English language is like skiing, you either love it or you don't. I love it and therefore want to learn everything about it. So it always surprises me that journalists would need help with writing. Do you think journalists put the story first and rely on editors behind the scenes to work their magic? And if yes, why do you think that these editors aren't writing the stories?
DAVID: The term “journalist” covers reporters and editors, and there is no room in today’s cash-strapped media for reporters who can’t write. To write to a professional standard requires lots of practice under strong guidance, which people don’t get before they enter the media. When I was a cadet journalist, a senior editor went through everything I wrote word by word, line by line for a 18 months. The difference between a reporter and an editor is that the reporter is like a prospector who can find diamonds and the editor is like a diamond polisher who brings a fresh eye to the gem.
DL: What sort of barriers do authors face when they don't have a great command of the English language?
DAVID: If authors don’t have a great command of English, their biggest challenge is find a way to reach readers without the most basic tools in their toolbox – words. Some overcome that with visual communications. Others use audio and video. Some may use a ghost writer. Whichever path the author takes will depend on the content they want to share.
DL: And last question, what is your favourite biscuit and/or cake at the moment?
DAVID: Vanilla cannoli
Thanks David for sharing with us. Now let's read about your latest book.
ABOUT THE BOOK
D L Richardson says: "1,101 Words2Watch is a useful resource for writers. Not long ago on Facebook I played the homonym game with readers and we came up with over 100 words that sounded the same but were spelt differently. Such as there and their, ate and eight, cue and queue. As a writer, there is a vast difference between these words and if we get them wrong, we can change the meaning of our content. And worse, we look like idiots. We should command the English language. This book covers words that are often mistaken for another such as accept and except, allowed and aloud, admission and admittance. Spell check doesn't pick up these words because they are not spelt incorrectly."
BUY THE BOOK
http://www.davidcoe.com.au/bookshop.html
BUY THE BOOK
http://www.davidcoe.com.au/bookshop.html
AUTHOR
BIO
David Coe
is a communications strategist who rose from a classically trained cadet
journalist to becoming the editor responsible for the Financial Review’s
information graphics before establishing himself as Australia’s authority on
investor social media. See
WEBSITE for further details and resources and events.
Thanks so much for dropping by David. Best of luck with the book.
D L
