Commit to Communicating Clearly
I confess to being a chronic complainer about poor grammar. I wish that I could overlook the many mistakes I encounter in business and professional communications. After all, most times I can decipher the meaning. Maybe I have an undiagnosed mental disorder that causes me to feel pain from poor grammar. Maybe I'm just a jerk. I know that English is an evolving, dynamic language. But let me explain why I think we as professionals should strive to use a more academic form of grammar.
The problem is that the use of an apostrophe to form a plural breaks my train of thought. The use of an apostrophe to form the possessive of "it" stops me in my tracks. Calling a senior consultant a "Principle" makes me cringe. Reading about "discreet" values of (publicly-available) data makes me question the writer's knowledge of the subject. "Your getting better" hurts me. And I can't even describe how ill I feel when I hear someone speak "aye ee" explicitly rather than say "that is". (I experience no discomfort reading the Latin abbreviation "i.e." for "id est".)
I was subjected to all of the above examples just today alone. The full list is much longer, the offences more varied, and the sources include U.S. Senators. I know I'm not the only person with a mental list of such offences.
As professionals, we should not only maintain expertise within our chosen fields, but also commit to communicating our knowledge clearly. Business and professional documents, communications, and presentations are more effective if the language used does not interrupt the flow of the audience's comprehension or distract from the message.
Yes, some targeted communications are intended to disrupt, or jar, or even offend; but I'm addressing the bulk of normal peer-to-peer, business-to-business, and business-to-public communications. Shouldn't we communicate in a way that is as unambiguous as possible? Shouldn't we avoid slang that might not be understood by some in our audience? Shouldn't we strive for precision in communication?
I believe that sloppy communication with others actually degrades our own thinking. By not being precise, we can derail our own train of thought. The negative feedback loop created by hearing or reading our own imprecise words affects our own subsequent thoughts.
I'm trying to be a better listener and communicator. Will you also commit to communicating correctly, clearly, completely, and concisely to contribute to comprehension by your colleagues and customers?
Gary Good to see your post - agree totally with you. We had met in TDWI Summit last year - hope things are going well Vidya
I know what you mean. I tend to proof everything I read and some people's spelling is a nightmare. I can't even understand what they are trying to say. I ask them to at least use a spell checker, but they won't. Too much bother.
Thank you for articulating just how I feel . . . I spent my formative years as a newspaper editor and come to a complete stop when I read something with improper grammar.
Thank you for articulating just how I feel . . . I spent my formative years as a newspaper editor and come to a complete stop when I read something with improper grammar. Can everyone just go out and buy the AP Stylebook and have it memorized before they write one more word?
Now, if we could just get more business people here in the valley to return phone calls/emails and be at meetings on time, we would really have something!