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| Bette Frick
The Text Doctor®
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| Quote of the Month |
I can write better than anybody who can write
faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better.
AJ Liebling
1904-1963
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New webinars:
Customer-focused writing Tactics for preparing text for Global English
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The Text Doctor's Diagnosis
May 2009 |
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Greetings!
Tips in this newsletter will help you be the best writer you can be. All of us can improve our communication skills, both written and oral. Thanks for reading these suggestions!
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Always check in with your audience
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Recently, I participated in an online training that I desperately needed. The problem was that I wasn't clear about what part of the training I needed most, and THE TRAINER NEVER ASKED US what we needed or where we were in our own process.
For 45 minutes, she went through a dazzling array of very high-level functionality, when what we really needed was the simplest of the simplest. By the time we "took back the training," we had only 15 minutes to cover the basics that we needed.
If you believe that the communicator is always responsible to check out what the audience needs and provide communication at the audience's level, you will see where this trainer failed.
Of course, you may argue that the listener/reader/trainee is also responsible to define his or her needs, but as this experience demonstrated, sometimes the audience is overwhelmed to the point of not even being able to speak up. (It's probably hard for you to imagine that I had a hard time communicating my own needs. I was struggling to pinpoint what I didn't understand while all that information was flowing past me, on a Monday morning, no less.)
This experience was a good reminder to check in with the audience BEFORE launching into any writing or training product. In this case, if she had asked us, "What do you want to know?" or "Where do you think you need to be trained?" I would have said immediately: "THE BASICS."
Perhaps you can't ask your entire audience in person, but here are some methods of assessing your audience (not all methods will apply to all writing situations):
- Survey them (online works well, if it's short enough that they'll respond, and if you offer a bribe). A great question to ask them is: "Tell me more about what you need in this document."
- Visit them in their work environment if you can.
- Read their writing to see their level of experience and knowledge in general.
- Ask others about them (how expert are they?).
Checking in with your audience before you write will not always guarantee that you'll "get it right" for them, but it will help you achieve your goal of delivering good communication at the audience's level of understanding.
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Saving the world, one apostrophe at a time
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When I was in graduate school, a professor insisted that the apostrophe would disappear within 50 years because it was so difficult for people to learn how to use it correctly. His theory was that if everyone stopped using the apostrophe, it would just go away.
Well, that was 20 years ago, and the only evidence I see of his theory being true is that people still have trouble using the apostrophe correctly.
Look at this example:
The word "Teacher's" should not have an apostrophe--it should just be the plural "Teachers." In English, we do not use an apostrophe to indicate a plural. Here's another example of an unnecessary apostrophe:
 To see more examples and review the rules for apostrophes, visit The Apostrophe Protection Society (a British website, but our rules for apostrophes are identical). You may argue that the reader will still figure out what you are saying even if you get your apostrophes wrong. You may be right--they'll reread and reread until they understand it. However, mistakes like these make you look unprofessional, uneducated, and even illiterate. |
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These are a few of my favorite things: Snagit
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 I use Snagit (TechSmith) as my screen capture utility. The program (now version 9.1.2) keeps getting better and better. It's reasonably priced ($49.95), but if you wonder why you would need to spend any money on a program instead of just using Windows' print screen function, try it for free for 30 days. When I ran the trial version years ago, I purchased the program immediately after the trial period ended. Now I'm addicted: Grabbing a screen image involves three clicks in about 15 seconds. The program is fast and fun to use, and I know it increases my productivity. (Full disclosure: I make no money from this recommendation, but I did participate in a usability test for Snagit this year and received a $50 gift certificate for my hour of time.) |
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For fun: Spoof article on "Written Language Disorder"
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No longer do you have to blame yourself, your parents, your siblings, your spouse, or your teachers for your writing problems. According to this satiric article, Mayo Clinic researchers have determined that Written Language Disorder affects almost 15 percent of otherwise normal school-aged children and has an adult-onset component. To read more and laugh a lot, go to The Web of Language.
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"See" you soon in an upcoming webinar. New topics include "Customer-focused writing" and "Tactics for preparing text for Global English."
Let me know if you have topics you'd like to see covered in a webinar, too!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth (Bette) Frick
The Text Doctor®
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New
webinars
Customer-
focused
writing; Global English
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Customer-focused writing: Learning to write with the customer in mind
Tactics for preparing text for Global English
Visitwww.textdoctor.com/webinars
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