Ever been to a party and been trapped by a non-stop talker? Those standing monologues (especially the ones by complete and total strangers) are annoying at best and a buzzkill at worst.

Droning on and on without engaging in any kind give-and-take dialogue is absolutely awful for the person on the receiving end.

That’s what I like so much about Twitter. The microblogging site lets you “talk” but forces you to do so in short snippets of 140 characters or less.

I recently conducted an informal survey of people who follow me and found that most think using Twitter has helping them communicate more concisely (and hence effectively).

Now, mind you, long prose certainly has it’s place. But in business writing I see so much extraneous copy that it drowns the core message. Get to the core message quickly. Put it first. Your reader will thank you and be more likely to take the appropriate action.

If you’re not on Twitter, sign up for a free account. Follow a few people (me included) and start paring down your dialogue. I promise you’ll be the life of the next party you go to.

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This post was was inspired by two things …

• the negative experience of a colleague whose integrity was called into question as a result of a poorly written newsletter article; and
• a tweet from @ProBlogger who created 29 Tips, Tutorials and Resources for New Bloggers.

Following are my links and fast-read tips to improve both written and spoken communication. Please note that while I may reference “writing” or “interactive copy” in some of these tips, you can easily substitute “communication” (the word and the concept) for each.

Read on … I promise you’ll learn something new or at least be reminded of something important.

1. A friendly reminder about good communication
2. Know who you’re talking to. Ask yourself these questions: Who is my audience? What do they expect to hear? What do they need to hear? What kinds of words will they respond to?
3. Simple tip for audience insight
4. Get to the point. Say what you have to say clearly and concisely. If it helps, pretend you’re talking to a child or explaining something to your grandmother.
5. Common writing mistakes (almost) everyone makes
6. Stop communicating to impress. Ditch the name-dropping, jargon-popping speak that characterizes much of American conversation.
7. Lose the unnecessary words
8. Do not repeat yourself or go on and on and on by saying the same thing multiple ways. In other words, lose the redundancies (like this one!).
9. Find some new words
10. Pause. It gives the reader or listener time to process what you’re saying. Hint: Punctuation is your natural pause in the written word.
11. How to make your everyday email more effective
12. Choose your words carefully. “He stepped down as CEO” sounds like the person quit or was fired; whereas “He completed his three-year term” sounds like the person achieved something.
13. Such a post a this should be made more clear via editing
14. Get personal, when appropriate. Speak “to” people; not “at” them.
15. Why good writing is a lot like being in love
16. Think before you communicate. Write your copy, set it aside and go back to it before sending or posting. In conversation, simply pause before continuing.
17. Short and sweet
18. Clarify vs. defend what you write or speak.
19. How to write conversationally
20. Skew toward the positive. Negativity rarely prospers.
21. Become a storyteller
22. Avoid clichés, jargon and buzzwords.
23. How to replace blah, blah, blah language
24. Keep the “who, what, when, where, why and how” in mind. Always.
25. Stop sleepwalking through your copywriting
26. Listen, listen, listen. ’Nuff said.

Want more? Sign up for monthly tips, insights and shortcuts or ask about 1:1 coaching

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The husband just emailed me with news of layoffs at his workplace.

Not him. (Not yet, anyway.)

The negative impact of this current economy keeps inching closer and closer to home for all of us, it seems.

Still, there are some positives …

• Financial gurus tout the money-making advantages of the times, repeating the mantra, ”buy low, sell high.”
• Small business advisors say now’s when entrepreneurs can leverage the playing field and outshine the big guys.
• Freelancers are rejoicing at the unprecedented level of local, regional and national outsourcing — to them.

So, what are you doing to maximize your online presence in spite of budget cuts, resource curtailments and lean staffing?

The answer is copy, my friends. Copy.

It is among the most affordable (and need I say necessary) investment to make any time of year, in any economy.

There’s plenty of information, experts, books and resources to help guide you.

I could (and do) share tons and tons of copy ideas, tips, techniques and best practices on this blog, on twitter, in my newsletter, at workshops and anywhere anyone else will listen, so even those with the strictest budgets can invest in making online copy improvements.

So what’s stopping you from creating more relevant, more compelling, more effective web copy?

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Birthdays, anniversaries, the start of a new semester or school year, and, of course, the beginning of a new calendar year are milestones in which many of us like to reflect, renew and recommit.

In addition to (or instead of) the usual lose weight, get organized, save money and spend more time with family resolutions, I’m asking you to make another equally serious commitment … this time to your copy.

Yep, your copy deserves a piece of you this year.

When’s the last time you reviewed your online privacy policy, your capabilities brochure or your signature speech? Do you have a copy review schedule? Have you dedicated resources to maintaining fresh content?

Resolve right now to ditch the “write-it-and-forget-it” mentality of yore (which, btw, in the Information Age is last year, last month or even last week) and the “we’ve-always-done-it-this-way” thinking.

I recently challenged one of my local television news stations via Twitter.com to stop the inane, useless teasers and start giving us real news, even in :10 soundbites. With a mobile phone, laptop or PSP I can jump online and get the news instead of waiting until “at 11.” C’mon. Gimme something now and promise something for later that will make me want to tune in. I’m not waiting to hear you tell me something I already read online, via a tweet or from a text message.

Don’t be guilty of what the entire news industry is guilty of — not keeping up with the way consumers demand their information be delivered.

Let me get you started. Say this out loud:

• I own responsibility for my copy.
• I commit to serving my customers/clients/audience/employees current information.
• Nothing is more valuable to me than providing current, credible, dynamic content.
• I will make a planned, intentional and strategic effort to update my copy and my copy practices.
• I will budget appropriate resources (time, money, staffing) to creating and maintaining amazing content both online and off

Cheers to you! You’ve taken the first, most difficult step toward creating a copy strategy that will serve you, your business and your customers well this year.

And while you’re at it, check out Guy Kawasaki’s post on the Amex Open Forum. He gives a quick-hit list of to-dos for small businesses; but his ideas translate well for any size business.

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