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When Should You Use “Among” vs. “Amongst”?

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

Two words, with two letters’ difference: “among” and “amongst.” But is there really a difference between them in meaning and usage?

The short answer is, no. Both “among” and “amongst” are prepositions used to describe something in the midst of, in the company of, surrounded by, or in association with. For example, “I know that contract is somewhere among this mess.” Or “Mary had one suitor in mind amongst the many clamoring for her attention.”

Does It Matter?

You can use “among” and “amongst” interchangeably, so why do both exist? The big difference is their age. “Among” comes from the Old English word “ongemang,” which combines the words for “in” and “mingling.” “Amongst,” despite its dated sound to modern American ears, is actually a newer term popularized as Middle English took over. “Amongst” appeared with other words such as “against.”

Historical Fiction

Generally speaking, it’s a matter of preference, but one particular use case for “amongst” would be in writing historical fiction. Given the word’s popularity during the Middle Ages, it may feel more at home when spoken by a character using other traditional lingo.

An International Audience

“Amongst” is more popular in England, Canada, and Australia. While Americans will understand “amongst,” it sounds out of place and old-fashioned within the American dialect. “Among” is the preferred choice when writing for an American audience, or for daily content such as news articles, reports, or business communication.

What About “Between”?

While there may not be much of a difference with “among” and “amongst,” there is a contrast compared to fellow preposition “between.” “Among” and “amongst” describe a collective grouping, such as: “The roses bloomed brightly among(st) a sea of green.”

You should use “between” only when highlighting a one-to-one relationship, as in: “The newspaper was wedged between the two passengers on the train.”

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

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Hashtag

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

There is much more in Litwin’s The Public relations Practitioner’s Playbook for (all) Strategic Communicators and The ABCs of Strategic Communication. Enjoy.

Hashtag – The # symbol, called a hashtag (some refer to it as a hash mark),
is used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet. It was created by Twitter® users
as a way to categorize messages – tweets – by keyword. Also,(on-social-networking websites) a word or phrase preceded by a hashtag, used within a
message to identify a keyword or topic of interest  and facilitate a search for it
(e.g. The hashtag #PRPractitioner’sPlaybook is used to help coordinate tweets
about The Public Relations Practitioner’s Playbook for (all) Strategic
Communicators.)

[Questions? larry@larrylitwin.com]

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7 Tips For Leading A Successful Virtual Team

[Questions: larry@larrylitwin.com]

From:

#1. If Possible, Start With A Face-To-Face Meeting – When working with a newly created team, it’s always best to have everyone meet face-to-face. Unfortunately, the expense of organizing an in-person meeting and current health restrictions often makes this impractical. A Zoom videoconference can be the next best thing. Offering virtual employees the opportunity to introduce themselves and meet others on the team will begin building team unity.
#2. Be Mindful Of Time Differences – With a virtual team, recognizing time zone differences is vital. Whether making a call to a team member on the opposite coast or scheduling a meeting with employees in other countries, you must be considerate about time differences. Maximize time differences by creating an overlapping schedule where everyone is working in their respective time zone.
#3. Use Online File Collaboration – For virtual teams, collaboration is vital. Often team members will share files and may work on documents simultaneously. Using a secure collaboration tool such as Microsoft Teams, Google Drive or Dropbox is essential to helping ensure everyone is on the same page.
#4. Set Up A Project Management System – E-mail can be a great communication tool. But relying on e-mail alone to track a virtual project can quickly become disorganized. While online collaboration tools help, an even better solution is establishing a project management system. With these systems, project documents and communications are organized into one central location. This makes tracking a project’s progress easy (and reduce project bottlenecks).
#5. Check-In With Your Team – To make sure everyone is up-to-date with company changes and other issues impacting your project, schedule weekly or monthly team calls. These calls also help to build a good rapport with the whole team. Keep calls short – no longer than 1 hour.
#6. Hone Your Meeting Skills – As the team or project manager, you need to keep your meeting and project management skills sharp. Having a clear plan for team calls is essential. Consider using screen-sharing to point out issues or to support your points visually. Create supporting documentation as a follow-up.
#7. Stay Connected – When in need of a quick answer to a question, virtual team members don’t always have the luxury of talking over a cubicle wall or walking a few feet into their manager’s office. Using chat programs, such as Skype, Microsoft Lync, or Google Chat, is a great way to foster instant communication among you and your team members. And, of course, the old-school phone is still the best tool for staying connected to the team.
Executive Summary: For your virtual team to work efficiently, you need to consciously build a good rapport with the whole team. Taking advantage of the latest technologies will not only help to manage projects more effectively but also keep the lines of communication open. Staying connected helps ensure the whole team is productively working toward the same goal.
[Questions: larry@larrylitwin.com]
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The Dollar Bill Test

[For more: larry@larrylitwin.com]

Dear friend and layout expert Rowan University Professor Claudia Cuddy, ret., came up with this many years ago. It remains applicable as you can see in The Public Relations Practitioners Playbook for (all) Strategic Communicators (Chapter 12).

The Dollar Bill Test is simple:

Take a dollar bill and turn it on a page of copy. To pass the Dollar Bill Test, it must touch at least one copybreaker. If it does, your publication passes. If not, it fails.
Professor Cuddy has her own list of copybreakers to assure publications pass the Dollar Bill Test:

• Heads
• Subheads
• Pull quotes (Blurbs)
• Rules
• Initial (or drop) caps
• Shaded (screened) boxes
• Pictures
• Art (line art)
• Bullet lists

There is much more in The PR Playbook. For a copy, visit www.authorhouse.com

[For more: larry@larrylitwin.com]

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50 Years ago on May 4, 1970

[For more: larry@larrylitwin.com]

50 Years ago today, I was a young editor-producer at ABC Radio News in New York City sitting in Studio 5-T. The events of that early Monday afternoon left an indelible memory. I was monitoring Kent State as best I could from 64th and Broadway. That’s when my boss yelled two words — Kent State. My assignment? Confirm the shooting and keep ABC’s millions of listeners on top of the story. My immediate response was one of disbelief (National Guardsmen shooting unarmed protesting students? No way. Maybe I was just young and naive?). Moments later, that disbelief became reality — a tragic reality. Four lives were lost and nine others were wounded or injured. May we never forget and, especially, remember all of those victims — Blessed Memories. Where have those 50 years gone?

[For more: larry@larrylitwin.com]

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Voice of authority

[larry@larrylitwin.com]

That voice is deep and in command. people who have a deeper voice are perceived as having more authority.

Knowing this could lead to successful business calls. Check out www.youvegotcontacts.com.

  • Instead of straining your vocal cords, try standing up when talking on the phone. It changes your energy flow.
  • Shift your weight to one foot and your voice will drop one octave and sound richer and fuller.
  • If you are talking in person, remember to not cross your arms or legs. It decreases listening skills by 38 percent and makes the person you are meeting with feel blocked off.

[larry@larrylitwin.com]

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Techniques to Succeed: The 30-3-30 Principle

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]

From Larry’s More ABCs of Strategic Communication (check it out on the website)…

Copy should always be prepared using the 30-3-30 principle. Is your copy aimed at the 30-second reader, three-minute reader or the 30-minute reader? To be effective, write for all three audiences.

There are nearly 300 Tips and Techniques in both The ABCs and the newer More ABCs Proceeds from the books’ sales go to the Public Relations Student Society of America and Parsons (Iowa) College Alumni Association.

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com]