| "People do not deserve to have good writing, they are | | | | fashion, I've heard the phrase "poster child" in many a |
| so pleased with bad." --Ralph Waldo Emerson | | | | business setting. |
| I wonder what the famous New England sage would | | | | It's like sportswriters telling us with mind-numbing |
| have thought of what passes for business | | | | frequency that some athlete or team has "taken it to |
| communication in today's world. Imagine his | | | | the next level." Is anyone thinking out there? |
| consternation trying to wade through this message | | | | My point: Business writing, particularly when email turns |
| from a company manager (thanks to an Associated | | | | all of us into writers, is the face that you regularly |
| Press article on business schools taking aim at bad | | | | present to your co-workers, bosses, subordinates, |
| writing): | | | | customers (existing and potential), vendors and |
| "It is my job to ensure proper process deployment | | | | partners. Stick with straightforward, unadorned English |
| activities take place to support process | | | | that respects your readers. That is business |
| institutionalization and sustainment. Business process | | | | communication at its most professional. |
| management is the core deliverable of my role, which | | | | The Bridge To Somewhere |
| requires that I identify process competency gaps and | | | | Being a bit of a political junkie, I often find myself |
| fill those gaps." | | | | admiring the way office seekers try to stay "on |
| Translation: "I'm the training director." | | | | message" despite the constant demands for "news" |
| What's happening there is an all-too common violation | | | | from the baying hounds of the media pack. One of our |
| of a communication skill rule that I hold dear and | | | | finest journalists, James Fallows, took a close look at |
| emphasize repeatedly when I do business | | | | election rhetoric in a recent issue of The Atlantic |
| communication training: You must write to edify and | | | | magazine. What he found deserves some play here |
| not to impress. Said another way, business writing | | | | because savvy politicians can show the rest of us |
| should be inclusive and not exclusive. | | | | how to deal with the annoying side of media relations, |
| Consultants often write to impress by using phrases | | | | which I apply to my media training seminars -- |
| (and I've actually seen these in print) such as | | | | reporters who try to push us off balance. |
| "dashboard measurement," "gated communications," | | | | Fallows noted that in 2008 Hillary Clinton flashed two |
| "proactive synergy" and "pain point." Nowhere does | | | | signs that she was ready to get rid of a nuisance |
| the "writer" explain what he is trying to say. The | | | | issue: "'I've said many times...,' so that whatever has |
| reader, a busy small business owner trying to decide if | | | | come up can't be news, and 'the real question is...,' the |
| she needs a consultant to help market her service, has | | | | politician's standard way of shifting discussion back to |
| been excluded because the writer is trying to impress | | | | more favorable ground. Barack Obama's version of |
| her with inside language -- ponderous, | | | | this tactic is to say 'it's just common sense...,' indicating |
| audience-unfriendly and even arrogant. | | | | that what he's about to say is restating the obvious |
| Then there's the matter of lazy reliance on trendy | | | | and reasonable. 'Look' or 'listen' at the start of an |
| cliches. One absurdly overused phrase is "apples and | | | | answer is his version of 'the real question is,' a sign that |
| oranges" to demonstrate how two topics of discussion | | | | he wants to answer something different from what |
| cannot be compared in any useful sense. I'd like to | | | | was asked." |
| suggest that we go back to plain and thoughtful English | | | | It's called "bridging," and it works. If you're trying to get |
| whenever possible and say something along the lines | | | | something out of media encounters -- whether a press |
| of, "But we have to look at those two issues | | | | conference or an interview or even crisis |
| separately," or "Comparing those two problems can be | | | | communications -- you can't expect the press to write |
| misleading." | | | | it all down passively and turn it into a story. It's their job |
| If that's not good enough, I have an idea. Let's change | | | | to get you to talk about other things, pushing you "off |
| fruits. How about this? From now on, instead of | | | | message." |
| "apples and oranges," let's make it "Jamaican passion | | | | When I did some communication skills training and |
| fruit" and "West African seedless pomegranates." Has | | | | media training recently with the new CEO of a large |
| a nice ring to it, doesn't it? | | | | VA hospital in the Midwest, we talked about bridging |
| Then a year from now, we can get adventurous and | | | | away from questions, such as politically loaded queries |
| try, let's say, cheeses. Can't you just hear it? "No, no, | | | | about veterans funding in DC that have little to do with |
| no. That's like comparing Abbaye de Mont des Cats | | | | her hospital. In some role-playing exercises, she tried |
| with Doppelrhamstufel!" | | | | out phrases that led her naturally back to her local |
| Finally, the Associated Press told us in a recent story | | | | message. Examples: |
| on the drug company Merck that its infamous | | | | --"What's important to remember, however..." |
| (withdrawn) painkiller Vioxx, is the "global poster child | | | | --"That's a good point, but I think you'd be interested in |
| for drug safety concerns." What?!?! Aren't poster | | | | knowing..." |
| children the victims? How did we get from a smiling | | | | --"Let me put that in perspective for our hospital." |
| little tyke in braces on a March of Dimes poster to a | | | | --"What that means is..." |
| drug that increases the risk for heart attacks and | | | | See how that maintains a polite dialogue while gently |
| strokes? To be sure, that's not strictly business | | | | steering things your way? |
| communication, but, in typical monkey-see-monkey-do | | | | |