Older Bylines
Intonation, body language, context. There’s so much operating on a short phrase when it’s spoken. But when it’s written? A short phrase takes on meanings deduced by context and the receiver’s (potentially over-active) imagination. I was assigned this piece while I was editing for BBC: Worklife in 2021. It was so much fun to report. For months afterward all I wanted to talk about was phatic communion, Gretchen McCulloch’s “internet people,” and how using an ellipsis at the end of a sentence could reveal a person’s age. Read the piece here.
After writing this story, I was hired as a senior journalist to build out the Family Tree vertical of BBC: Worklife. It was a fascinating (short-term) assignment.
Why Tiny Words Like ‘Yup’ Can Send You Into a Tailspin
Seemingly innocuous spoken words––sure, OK, fine, yup, no prob, gotcha––feel like weapons in text. Why are we so sensitive? Published by BBC: Worklife in 2021.