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Better English 101
Tips For Communicating Better
Vol I, No. 3
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In this issue
-- TERMS TO BORROW
-- A GERUND NEEDS A POSSESSIVE
-- LANGUAGE FOR TERMINATING
-- HI, I'M PATHANA

More Tips, More Examples

Here are some more tips and techniques to help you communicate better. Feel free to write back with questions and comments.

TERMS TO BORROW
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 Turning a phrase, or putting together a term that has a special sparkle is always an enjoyable feat. You may want to collect phrases and terms that can be reused in your own writing to add that special touch. Index cards are a good place to keep them, especially since you can divide them into categories. Here are some recent additions to my list.

A New York Times writer covering the sale of 110 buildings in Manhattan wrote of the "seismic cultural shifts" that would result.

Something represented just "the tip of a significantly larger iceberg."

One argument could "tilt the wand."

A legal case "presents those issues in bewildering abundance as well."

A speaker "recounted the facts in granular detail."

An "unbridgeable gulf" was created between X and Y.

Sometimes we have to "expand the frame of reference."

DNA is "one of the bedrocks" that prosecutors use.


A GERUND NEEDS A POSSESSIVE
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 What the heck is a gerund anyway? It's a verbal ending in "ing" and functions as a noun.

Typical examples--

He escaped by swimming rapidly.

Borrowing more money could be a mistake.

Skipping along the pier is dangerous.

Listening carefully was a trait he had developed.

But when we place a pronoun before the gerund, we must remember that it must be in the possessive form:

His [not he]swimming rapidly allowed him to escape.

Your [not you] borrowing money could be...

Their [not they] skipping along...

LANGUAGE FOR TERMINATING
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 "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated," the e-mail read. That's how Radio Shack notified 400 employees that they had lost their jobs last month.

How's that for shoddy communications?

It brings up the issue of what kind of communication is proper when terminating an employee. Why do we have such difficulty in dealing tactfully and honestly with employees in these situations?

Karen DeYoung's recent biography of former secretary of state Colin Powell describes his inelegant dismissal. "The president would like to make a change," the chief of staff--not the president-- told him by telephone. His resignation letter was expected in two days.

An editor at William Morrow was told simply, "Things aren't working out."

A president of the then Chase Manhattan Bank was told by the chairman, "Some people think that we need a change; don't you?"

Part of the problem is lack of candor, says Jack Welch, former CEO at General Electric. He maintains that managers are stuck with a culture of not telling the truth. Instead of telling an employee that he isn't doing a good job, they replace him.

"We are too kind to tell him that his work is unaccepatable," says Welch. No employee, according to the former CEO, should be surprised about her performance rating. We expect our kids to be graded in school, but we don't want to flunk anybody over the age of 21.

His approach: No employee should be surprised about how he is being rated. If you have periodic evaluations, three or four times yearly, everyone knows where he stands.

Still, the first question that a Radio Shack employee might ask is, "Why me?" followed by "why didn't you tell me?"

The bottom line: having facility with all the techniques and rules of the English language still doesn't guarantee that you are imparting information effectively and with grace. You still must be courageous enough to tell the truth.

What do readers think? Send me an email and I'll share your comments in the next issue.

HI, I'M PATHANA
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 Do you send these emails? Or receive them as regularly as I do? Many have decided that these are proper salutations:

Jim Robinson here from All Solutions Infotech

I am Roberta Rodriguez and I saw your post on Craigslist

Hi, my name is Mikolaj I´m 14 years old and I live in Poland [Oh sorry, he thinks I'm soccer star David Beckham]

So here's the lesson: Your name goes at the end of the message, which in a letter is called the signature. Not the beginning.

Here are four main parts of the letter that can be applied to your emails:

1. Salutation: Dear President Bush:

2. Body of the text

3. Complimentary closing: Sincerely, Best wishes, etc.

4. Signature and title: Bill Gates, CEO, Microsoft Corp.

Put your name at the end, not at the beginning. You are writing an email, not knocking on somebody's door.

Best wishes,
Barry Beckham

Special Pre-Release of New Novel


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