Insights archive
Red Pony is a team of writers, editors, Microsoft Office template developers and communications trainers. We have been writing about our areas of expertise for over a decade in our Red Pony Express newsletter.
This collection features the best articles from the last 10 years.
Command centre: using imperatives in copywriting
Of the four kinds of English sentences – declarative, interrogative, exclamatory and imperative – the imperative might be the one you use least in your writing. It can be tricky to tell someone what to do without sounding blunt, even rude.
Tips for curing writer’s block
As a professional writer I occasionally get stuck with that dreaded affliction called writer’s block – the feeling of being stuck and unable to write. Most writers experience this feeling at some point, and it can last for anywhere from minutes to years.
Too many notes – tips for succinct writing
Writing succinctly isn’t easy. Here are my top tips for trimming those excess words.
How the ATO use 'nudge' theory to get more people to pay their taxes
The concept of ‘nudge’ theory – using subtle prompts to influence human behaviours – is being used by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to encourage tardy taxpayers to make good on their debts.
‘I do’ and other performative utterances
Language allows us to put words to the world we see around us, but on special occasions words can do more.
Red Pony Express marks its 15th year
Back in 2008, my colleague Andrew Eather and I began working on ideas for a newsletter we could send out every couple of months. In the tradition of the television ‘clip show’, I’m going to look at some of our previous articles and the people who wrote them.
The heredity of royal words
With the Queen’s passing being so present in the news, we’ve all been surrounded by a family of words with an interesting heredity.
The secret life of nursery rhymes
How many nursery rhymes that you know have a dark backstory?
The art and science of speechwriting
As a massive fan of Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, I always relish the opportunity to call on my inner Toby Ziegler when someone asks me to help them with writing a speech.
Lessons from IKEA
As I assembled a new wardrobe last weekend in the spare-room-cum-study that is soon to be my daughter’s new bedroom, I was struck by just how simple yet effective the instructions were. Perhaps more striking was the fact that they didn’t contain a single word.