skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I mentioned emoticons in a recent post, and on Sunday, 7.29., the New York Times ran an informative piece on the evolution of these helpful little critters. I'd like to say that the Times piece was inpsired by my post, but of course that would be a stretch.
The piece includes a cogent quote by Will Schwalbe, an author of "Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home": "In a perfect world, we would have time to compose e-mails that made it clear through our language that we are being cheerful and friendly, but we're doing these things hundreds of times a day under pressure."
Schwalbe goes on to note that he sees a broadening use of emoticons among adults in "delicate and significant communcations." With that in mind, I'll repeat the contention I made in my recent posting (which dealt with avoiding having your communications misinterpreted). Emoticons are all right, but use them, if you must, only to back up or underscore the feeling and tone that you should try to establish by striving to write clearly and concisely, and then carefully reviewing what you've written.
It's not as hard as you might think. ;-)
Most folks would agree that we are what we eat. Considering that I consume way too many cheeseburgers and pizzas, I don't want to dwell on what that makes me. But let's modify the dietary adage and apply it to writing: "We write what we speak."
Huh? you say. OK. Maybe I'm overworking the maxim. What I'm trying to convey is that just as we're careful about grammar, punctuation and usage when we write, or should be, we must be careful about the same issues when we speak because writing and speaking are related. If we employ sloppy grammar and usage when we talk, then it's likely that the same flaws will creep into our writing.
What I've found is that people start out learning grammar, usage, punctuation, vocabulary and so on to become better writers. But as they become skilled as writers, they also become more circumspect about the words coming out of their mouth. And as Martha Stewart would say, "That's a good thing."
As we become better writers, we speak more precisely and correctly, which feeds back into our writing and, before long, you have this beautiful ying and yang thing going.
So, the next time you're holding forth about something, siphon off some of your gray matter to simultaneously mind your grammar and usage, your choice of words and the way you're structuring your sentences. Is there a chance that you might come off as too starchy? Yes, but that's part of the learning experience. Edit yourself the same way you edit your writing, and in time you'll find your true voice as a speaker, just as you'll discover it as a writer.
We've all blurted out things we would like to take back, or have had what we said taken wrong. The same errors often occur in writing, perhaps even more frequently because written words have to stand on their own; they can't be propped up by body language, facial expression and tone of voice.
Absent these helpful indicators, what we write often goes awry. Anyone who's written what they intended as an inoffensive e-mail or memo only to be surprised by a frosty response that makes it clear that the recipient took it wrong, knows what I mean.
"Say what you mean," is the slogan for my public relations and marketing communications business. And if you want to make sure you're doing that when you author an e-mail, letter, memo, report or other written communication, follow some of these tips:
• Don't write when you're angry. Usually you'll regret it after you've cooled off. If you feel compelled to vent your ire in writing, go ahead. But wait at least 24 hours before shipping it out. Most of the time, you'll never send the poisonous missive you previously penned.
• Exercise one of a writer's most important tools: being able to read what you've written through the eyes of the reader. As the writer, you know that you're trying to be witty or humorous, but your reader can't look inside your head. He or she has only your words on the page or computer screen. Scrutinize your work with that in mind. Clarity and precision of language are key. Are you really saying what you mean?
• Let your writing age. Above, I recommended a 24-hour cooling off period when you write angry. I suggest the same period with any important communication -- be it a vital report or a love letter. That first draft that practically writes itself may initially seem to be a model of wit and sagacity, but revisiting it even a few hours later may unmask it as flawed and trite. I know, you often can't afford to postpone sending something. If so, follow this rule: stick to the unadorned facts and give your communication at least one swift read-through before pressing the send button.
• When e-mailing, don't rely on smiley faces and emoticons (keyboard characters that can be combined to form expressive symbols, :), for example) to convey that you're just kidding. I'm not advising against using these tools, but be mindful that not all of your recipients are aware of their meaning. Count on your words to convey your message.
• Know that humor is a tough effect to handle successfully, as anyone who has ever attempted stand-up can confirm. If you try to be comical in print, you'd better know what you're doing; otherwise, leave the jokes to the pros.
• Be mindful of "tone." I'm not talking about the noise you hear over the phone after the other party hangs up. In writing, tone refers to the choice of words, sentences and expressions that give readers insight into our mood and manner as we're speaking to them through writing. Our tone can be serious, frivolous, casual, angry, etc. In business writing, it's usually the former. Just make sure, as you review what you've typed, that your writing reflects that.
This list could be longer, but you get the point. Words are like dynamite. They must be handled carefully or they can blow up in your face. Here are some other helpful sources on this topic: Mind your manners and e-mail etiquette.
On the first day of each semester I tell my university writing class that one of the most important tools a writer can possess is a hide about as thick as a rhinoceros's. Why? Because whether you're a novelist, copywriter, journalist, or report writer, if you take time to put words on paper, a little bit of your self bleeds out along with the ink, which is why we tend to take criticisms of our writing personally, as though our religious convictions or politics were being attacked.
The more work you put into your writing, the more seriously you take it. Hence the need for a bulky suit of armor to better enable you to survive the arrows and spear thrusts of constructive criticism. Try not to take it personally when someone suggests that you could have worded a sentence differently or that he or she really doesn't understand what you're getting at in the second paragraph.
Criticism, or editing, is a necessary element of the writing process. We know what we're trying to say, but what we write doesn't always accomplish that aim. A writer should scrutinize what she's written over and over again. But even the most careful scribbler will miss flaws in her copy. That's why it's critical that someone else look at your work. The importance of that second and third pair of eyes examining your darling can't be overstated. That's why you must detach yourself from what you've written and listen closely to the advice of others. Does that mean that the readers who you invite to examine your work are always correct in their criticisms and suggestions? No. They can often be decidedly wrong. But you must objectively weigh what they say and choose whether to change your work. The more detachment you've developed, the more objectively you'll be able to consider suggestions, which often are helpful – more times than we would like to admit.
Of course, suggestions aren't always what you're dealing with. Depending on your situation, you may have no choice but to accept them. That news release you toiled over for a week could be hacked and retooled to the the point where it's unrecognizable. You can rail against the injustice of it, or if you've a hide thick enough to stop a bullet, you can view things philosophically and console yourself that you did the best you could.
Being able to detach yourself from your work is easy to say, but, depending on your personality, it may be hard to do. I wish I could offer some advice to thin-skinned folks about adding tough layers to their epidermis. But in nearly a quarter of a century of professional writing, I'm still working on mine, though I'm happy to report progress. It's now about as bulky as tissue paper.
Mark Twain said, "If you catch an adjective, kill it." That's both sound and memorable advice. The idea being that overuse of adjectives (words that describe nouns) can clutter writing and rob it of its vigor. Strong, colorful verbs should be your primary workers in a sentence. But that doesn't mean that adjectives aren't useful – even in business writing -- and it's wise to have a sizable and varied collection of them, as well as a sharp feel for how and when to use them.
Treat adjectives the way a cook treats a powerful spice, sparingly.There's also a fundamental rule to remember when you shove more than one adjective in front of a noun. Like two feuding kids, adjectives must sometimes be separated. A comma is the proper tool for the job, but before slapping one in between two adjectives, you need to determine first if the comma is necessary by asking two questions, both of which are intended to determine if the adjectives are equal in rank.
First question: If and is inserted between the two adjectives, will the sentence still make sense?: "He is a congenial and dapper gentlemen." In this instance, and works, so you would use a comma to separate the adjectives, "...a congenial, dapper gentlemen."
Second question: Can the two adjectives be used interchangeably? In the above example, yes. You could write "...a dapper, congenial gentlemen" and the sentence would still read correctly.
Now let's look at an example in which the two questions reveal that you have adjectives that are unequal in rank and must not be separated by a comma: "The old stone house no longer stands." If you insert and between old and stone, the sentence reads awkwardly. Likewise, should you swap the positions of stone and old, the sentence appears nonsensical. That's because stone is an integral part of the phrase "stone house." It doesn't have equal footing with old as a modifier of the house. You could say "decrepit stone house," "rambling stone house," or plug in any number of other adjectives, but stone and house stay together as a unit, also known as a noun phrase, and no comma separates stone from the adjective that appears before it.
I'll close with a couple of other examples that illustrate both equal and unequal adjectives: "The tattered blue suit," "He rode a new, 10-speed blue bicycle."
