| Bette Frick
The Text Doctor®
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| Quote of the Month |
Writing energy is like anything else. The more you put in, the more you get out. Richard Reeves, author and syndicated columnist
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Answer to last month's quiz
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Thanks to those who took the quiz on this sentence:
Time flies you can't they fly too fast.
Here's how I would punctuate this string of words:
Time flies. You can't; they fly too fast.
OR
Time flies; you can't; they fly too fast.
(EVERYBODY got one or the other answer. Good work!)
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| Poll of the Month | I've recently been obsessing about the use of the word "around." Would you tell me how you feel about the word "around" by taking this simple, one-question poll? Thank you!
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The Text Doctor's Diagnosis
November 2010
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Greetings!
The Text Doctor is 20 years old today!!!!
No, really: I have been self-employed as The Text Doctor for 20 years. On the Monday after Thanksgiving in 1990, I was laid off for the second time that year. I said "No more!" and launched The Text Doctor.
It's been a great ride so far, and my hearty thanks to all who made it possible: clients, students, readers, and writers who trust me with their editing. Special thanks go to Liz Willis, who edits this newsletter for me.
Thank you for 20 wonderful years; I hereby sign up for 20 more.
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Could you use humor to improve your presentations?
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| David Vickery wrote an excellent article in this month's Presentation magazine titled "Can presenters learn from comedians?" Vickery argues that comedy looks effortless and is helpful to entertain your audience, but as in all presentation endeavors, preparation, rehearsal, and practice are essential.
I've competed in several Toastmasters' humorous speech contests, and I practiced my humorous speeches many times, including in front of live audiences other than my dog. Every rehearsal helped me delete material either because it was too long or it wasn't funny.
I encourage all presenters to think of adding humor to well-rehearsed presentations wherever possible. I learned this lesson from the inmates at Stillwater Correctional Facility, where I taught in the 1980s. Stillwater was a maximum-security prison, and most of my students were "lifers" (I didn't ask why). After the first week of my teaching, they elected one of the men to approach me and ask me to "lighten up" a bit; I probably was overly serious and pedantic because of the setting and because I cared so much about teaching writing. He suggested that we'd all have a better time if we laughed a bit more.
Who knew? Relaxing a bit and looking for the humor in any situation helped in the prison and for all these years since then. I agree with research findings that people learn better with laughter and engagement. I will be forever grateful to those men in Stillwater.
I have worked with many scientists. Most of them had a lively sense of humor when we worked face to face; however, they switched into serious mode once in front of an audience. I coached them to practice using their natural humor in their presentations.
Perhaps the distinction between "comedy" and natural humor would be useful here. Comedians gear their humor to a TV or bar audience, not a conference or classroom audience. The term "humor" seems more universal and appropriate in most situations. Your audiences, too, will appreciate it when you use your natural humor to lighten up a bit.
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Why I hate Arial Narrow
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Favorite things: The Yahoo! Style Guide
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|  I just learned of the Yahoo! Style Guide online (you can buy it for $14.95 on Amazon). The online version has some interesting quick links; I was fascinated by their word list (is it 24/7 or 24-7?) Their list would be a good model for your own customized word list; I always recommend having preferred spelling and formatting in one place to make your writing consistent.
The guide also includes sections on how to write concisely; optimize text for search engines; and observe copyright. The advice is directed at anyone writing for the Web (yes, that's right: Capitalize the word Web when a noun, but lower case it when combined with other words such as webcam, weblog, webpage).
If you are writing in technical fields such as medicine or engineering, most disciplines have their own style guides (for example, the AMA Manual of Style). However, if you write any technical material for the Web or blogs or any online setting, you may find some good suggestions from the Yahoo! guide.
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