Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.

1191. This week, we talk to Iva Cheung, a plain language expert and editor who has helped shape Canada's accessibility standards. We look at what plain language actually means (it's more than just short words and simple sentences) and why it matters for healthcare, legal rights, and everyday communication. Then we explore cognitive load theory, the expertise reversal effect, and why user testing is the secret ingredient most writers skip.

Find more from Iva at IvaCheung.com.

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty
| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.
Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian
Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb
| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.
| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1190. This week, we look at what makes Yoda's English special, and we look at the difference between “trooper” and “trouper,” including whether singular “troop” may be short for “trooper” and why “a real trouper” is the traditional spelling.

🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.
🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)
🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.
🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.
🔗 Find an edited transcript.
🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.
Audio Engineer: Castria Communications
Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian
Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1189. This week, we talk to Grant Faulkner, co-founder of Memoir Nation and former executive director of NaNoWriMo, about what makes writing a memoir different from writing fiction. We look at why memory is more story than recording, how trauma fragments the way people use language and narrative structure, and why you don't need an extraordinary life to write a compelling memoir. Grant also explains what a flash novel is and why the form is taking off, and he shares his advice for anyone ready to sit down and start writing their story.

GrantFaulkner.com

🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.
🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)
🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.
🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.
🔗 Take our advertising survey.
🔗 Get the edited transcript here.
🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.
| HOST: Mignon Fogarty
| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.
Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian
Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb
| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.
| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1188. This week, we look at how “the bee's knees” went from meaning something tiny to the cheeriest slang of the 1920s — and why it outlasted the cat's pajamas and the clam's overshoes. Then, we look at why recipes boss you around with phrases like “fold in cheese” and how cookbook language evolved from chatty medieval notes into clipped, no-nonsense commands.

The "recipe" segment was by Karen Lunde, a career writer and former Quick & Dirty Tips editor. She writes I'll Go First, a Substack where she shares personal essays and memoir, then hands you a weekly writing prompt and a metaphorical pen. Find her on igofirst.org.

🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.
🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)
🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.
🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.
🔗 Find an edited transcript.
🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.
Audio Engineer: Castria Communications
Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian
Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1187. Today, we talk to workplace communications coach and author Joel Schwartzberg about how to clearly and effectively get to the point, and he outlines how his clients use AI as a communication tool without losing their authentic voice.

Joel Schwartzberg's website.

🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.
🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)
🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.
🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.
🔗 Take our advertising survey.
🔗 Get the edited transcript here.
🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.
| HOST: Mignon Fogarty
| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.
Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian
Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb
| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.
| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.