Building Rapport

• Language Log and Canadian Dept of Justice Endorse Singular "They"

  2008 Apr 13

  Read the Language Log post here.

• "L" Is for Lists

  2008 Apr 08

  Wizard Lists
  
  Lists can make text items easy to read. Lists are a visual way to focus information. Review your draft for suitable lists embedded in the text.
  
  The standard rule is that the items listed must be similar in nature, parallel in grammatical form and of equal importance.
  
  In plain language writing, we ought to be a flexible about that rule. You’ll know the occasion for flexibility when you see it.
  
  Another standard rule: Lists should include at least 3 items and not more than 7.
  This is because people remember things better in groups of 3 and with more than 7 items on the list focus is lost.
  
  But my experience tells me that an occasional list of two items works okay. And that I never want more than 5 items on my lists, because far fewer people can process, remember, and use 6 and 7 items than can handle 5.
  
  Gregg’s Reference Manual, favoured by many professionals in the plain language field, suggests the question of punctuation of the introductory material is important. It seems you only need a colon if the introductory material forms a complete sentence that you could punctuate with a period.
  
  In this world, few people understand the differences, and will wonder why some lists are preceded by a colon and others are not. I throw a colon at all of them.
  
  Use these formatting options to set lists off from text:
  · spacing to establish a separate unit
  · indentation, at the left only or both left and right
  · numerical or alphabetic listing where you want to prioritize the items
  · bullets or special characters where there is no priority
  · double column format for long lists of short items

• Kindly for "K"

  2008 Apr 03

  Be kind to others. Be considerate of your readers.
  
  So when you write, take care to include all the dates, facts, and figures that the person may need to handle your query or request or instruction.
  
  In business letters, include everybody's file reference numbers if you have them.
  
  Give a quick summary of a letter or request that you are responding to.
  
  Just don't force the other person to go searching for their file, records, or catalogue in order to deal with your letter.
  
  The selfish benefit of this is that you are more likely to get an early response if you save your correspondent the time to sort this all out.

• Humour at work, Workopolis

  2008 Mar 31

  Workopolis' Humour Classification Report:
  
  This year Workopolis provides information about who is doing the joking
  and how to do humour right this April Fool's Day.
  
  - Sarcastic/witty jokester: This workplace comedian may appear to have
  it easy with a punch line for every situation, but humour isn't
  always the right solution. While it tends comes across as witty and
  clever, if done too often or gone wrong, his humour can be perceived
  as sarcastic. He isn't shy to add colour commentary in any and all
  situations - in front of the boss, colleagues or whomever. And
  because of the witty approach to his humour, he is confident in his
  delivery and always gets a laugh.
  
  - Workopolis' advice: Think before you joke. Evaluate the situation,
  your audience and your injection of humour. Will it get a laugh
  from most of the room? Will it take the meeting off strategy? Are
  you interrupting and offending anyone? Keeping quiet could be the
  best approach in serious situations, meetings or environments.
  
  - Obnoxious or inappropriate joker: She's easy to identify since there
  is often an uncomfortable silence that follows her humour. And she
  doesn't hesitate to incorporate her humour into any situation. She
  has a hard time differentiating between workplace humour and social
  humour and often crosses the line with inappropriate language and
  subject matters. Don't follow her lead this April Fool's Day!
  
  - Workopolis' advice: You are still at work, and what may get a
  laugh with your friends, isn't always appropriate with your
  colleagues. Avoid topics that really don't lend themselves to
  humour - anything you'd be afraid to say to your mother, doesn't
  belong in the workplace either. Evaluate each situation and assess
  the room before you open with a punch line. Your colleagues will
  appreciate your humour more if you use it cautiously.
  
  - Trying too hard to be funny jokester: He's often relying on humour to
  get attention and lighten uncomfortable situations. He rarely hears
  the laugh track after his punch line, but that only pushes him to try
  harder. His comments and attempts at humour distract the audience
  more than amuse. According to the Workopolis April Fool's Day poll,
  only two per cent of Canadians believe humour should be used at work
  to get attention or stand out from others. That means this approach
  to workplace humour is in the minority and more people are
  uncomfortable with your humour than approve.
  
  - Workopolis' advice: You don't have to have the last word, and you
  certainly don't need to make a comment every time you're in the
  room. The more you say, the less funny you are, and the fewer
  laughs you'll get. Try other techniques to earn respect from your
  colleagues and save your humour for the right or best situation.
  In this case, less is more.
  
  - The Prankster: This joker often relies on physical practical jokes to
  get a reaction from his colleagues. He is clever in his approach and
  aims to trick people - whether turning to email sabotage, rearranging
  office furniture, whoopee cushions or crank phone calls. Be weary of
  this workplace comic.
  
  - Workopolis' advice: April Fool's Day was made for you! Be sure you
  know your audience well and understand the limitations of
  workplace pranks. Before your prank, do your research and find out
  if it's acceptable to pull a practical joke on the boss. Often
  your humour involves tricking people one at a time, so make sure
  your victims can handle your sense of humour.
  
  - Putting it all on the line funny: This prankster goes a step beyond
  "Trying too hard to be funny". She stops at nothing to get a laugh -
  even at the expense of her career or colleagues. She often spends
  more time crafting the right prank instead of focusing on her work.
  She's willing to embarrass herself in front of room full of
  colleagues to get attention. April Fool's Day is a dangerous day for
  this workplace clown as she feels it's a no holds barred-type of day.
  
  - Workopolis' advice: Re-evaluate your career - maybe you were more
  suited for the life of a comedian? While work environments are
  finding more room for humour, not all corporate cultures tolerate
  yours. Understand what's acceptable and appropriate in your work
  environment before you go too far. Tone it down and save up more
  of your humour and pranks for outside of work social situations.
  
  The rules of humour at work:
  
  While each work environment has its own specific approach to humour and
  pranks on the job, workopolis.com offers the following advice to those
  planning a prank this April Fool's Day or any day of the year:
  
  - Know your corporate culture: While there may not be a formal rule in
  place, do your research first and find out how tolerant your
  workplace is of practical jokes. If it's not widely accepted,
  reconsider your plans for April 1st. If it is allowed, know your
  boundaries.
  
  - Know who's off limits: Though half of working Canadians report their
  workplaces allow pranks, does that include the boss? Your manager?
  Your subordinates? Recognize who has a sense of humour, who will
  appreciate your humour and who you should avoid.
  
  - Know how far you can go: It may be just a joke, but more importantly,
  you're still at work and should use cautious judgement before you go
  too far. Ask yourself if the prank was played on you, would you find
  it funny? Can this prank only be tested on certain colleagues? If the
  answer to either of these questions is no, reconsider your practical
  joke.
  
  - Know when the timing is right: Even if you work for an environment
  that encourages humour and pranks, there is a time and a place for
  everything. Consider: are your colleagues on deadline? Are there
  clients or important guests in your office? Is it too tense and a
  practical joke will push them over the edge? What kind of a message
  will you send if it's your first day of work and you're the
  originator of a workplace prank?
  
  - Know what to do if you've gone too far: You may take every necessary
  precaution to ensure humour is used appropriately at work, but it can
  still backfire. First, find out where you went wrong - was the timing
  off? Did you target the wrong person? If you offended someone
  specifically, formally apologize.

• "Just" for "J" Week

  2008 Mar 27

  Well, lucky for me that Seth Godin blogged about writing this week and gave me my inspiration. Here is his full post:
  

  
  Sort of, just and Donald Trump
  
  I noticed a little while ago that I was using the word "just" and the phrase "sort of" in my writing. All the time, in fact. In my last book, a search and replace removed more than 80 unnecessary 'justs'.
  
  Just say it.
  
  Don't hide behind waffling terms that don't mean anything.
  
  On the other hand, as I passed the skating rink in New York with the Donald's name plastered all over it, I'm reminded of a new trend I'm seeing more of, which is the act of declaring whatever you're working on 'the best ever,' 'the best in the world,' etc.
  
  Saying it doesn't make it so. In fact, it probably makes it unso.

  
  
  Take the advice and cut out those extra words. Not just the waffling words but the insistent words like "very" as in "It was a very long time since he had called".
  
  In fact, you should be able to go through your writing and cut it by at least 10%. When I edit the work of wordy professionals like lawyers, bureaucrats, and academics, I set myself a goal of reducing the word count by 30%.