Booher BanterYour Resource for the best ideas to improve communications skills.

It happened again.  Just about the time I’m ready to leave the office for the day and head home, an email pops into my inbox from our marketing director, Kari. The forwarded subject line from my publisher says “URGENT.”

Kari’s email basically states that yes, I can be available for an interview with a newspaper journalist that day to discuss my book Booher’s Rules of Business Grammar to “celebrate” National Punctuation Day, September 24.  (It was then 5:30 p.m. on September 24.)    Kari cc’d me on her response to journalist. 

I scroll down further in Kari’s email to read the earlier incoming emails—the original one from the journalist to the publisher’s PR department.  Then the one from the PR department to our marketing director.  The original request had spent a day “en route.”

Think about this a moment:  Even if there had been only a couple of hours delay before each recipient had opened the email and responded, how could we possibly have responded in time? (And yes, Kari started by picking up the phone before emailing about my availability.)

Then there was the swim meet incident this week:  I called my daughter-in-law last Sunday afternoon to ask what time the swim meet would be on Saturday.  On Thursday, thinking she must be out of town with my son at his convention, I leave a message on his cell phone asking about the swim meet.  He calls back to say, “She texted the swim meet time. Didn’t you get it?  The meet’s at 10:00 Saturday.  Hope you can make it.”  (And just for the record, technology failed on this occasion; the text-message never arrived.)

On Friday, I get an email and a text message from my daughter-in-law, with an “URGENT” subject line:  “Swim Meet Time Changed to 1:00.” But what if I hadn’t received this second text? We would have arrived at the meet three hours early.

Yes, I know iPhones have a bazillion apps—from games to gadgets. But I have an idea for a new one:  Maybe someone should create one for people who have forgotten how to use their phone for talking that plays motivational messages like, “Call your mother.”

Man (nor woman) does not live by email or text-messaging alone.  No kidding, communicating by phone is occasionally still the best option.

Posted at 10:05am in Communication—Interpersonal, General Communication, Grammar, Social Media Communication | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Are you curious about the three punctuation errors that surface most often when participants bring writing samples to our business and technical writing workshops? Although we haven’t kept a formal list, hands down, these are the three that take top honors:

Run-on sentences (missing or inadequate punctuation)

The biggest punctuation pitfall that renders a sentence powerless is the run-on. It’s as noticeable as a train wreck. Here are examples of sentence collisions:

Incorrect:

She loves her job however she’s going to resign.

Kevin outlined his goals for the new year, they seem very realistic and doable for the time frame.

Ziggy has asked for a reduced work schedule she wants to work no more than 30 hours a week.

Each of these sentences has two separate thoughts that can stand alone. Both “halves” of each sentence have a subject and a verb and can exist as a separate sentence. They have to be either written as two separate sentences or separated within the sentence by a semicolon. (When two separate thoughts are joined by connective adverbs like however, therefore, thus, hence, moreover, consequently, and subsequently, a comma doesn’t have the strength to hold them apart.)

Correct:

She loves her job; however, she’s going to resign.
(Or: She loves her job. However, she’s going to resign.)

Kevin outlined his goals for the new year; they seem very realistic and doable for the time frame.
(Or: Kevin outlined his goals for the new year. They seem very realistic and doable for the time frame.)

Ziggy has asked for a reduced work schedule; she wants to work no more than 30 hours a week.
(Or: Ziggy has asked for a reduced work schedule. She wants to work no more than 30 hours a week.)

Consider word flow in a document much like the traffic flow in our transportation system. A period means stop. A semicolon tells the reader to stop but to keep idling because there’s another very closely related idea to follow. When writers fail to put punctuation signals in place appropriately, ideas crash in the reader’s mind.

Memory Tip

Visualize this error as a train wreck. Two separate trains of thought crash into each other.

Commas when addressing people directly

Eons ago, when people wrote each other letters, they began “Darling Brunhilda,” “Dear Bruno,” “My dear Hannah,” or “Dear Mr. Hartford,” whether they intended to invite the recipient for dinner or a duel.

Email has changed our format and tone. Often the salutation is “Hi, Fritz.” No problem—as long as the writer remembers that Hi isn’t an equivalent for Dear. Dear is an adjective—a descriptive word (unless, of course, you’re calling someone Dear as a name instead of Honey Buns or Hot Lips). Hi is a greeting. Big difference.

When you write

Dear Fritz,

Blah, blah, blah . . .

you add only the comma after the name. You are describing Fritz as someone dear—even though nowadays no one takes the term seriously and you may actually hate Fritz’s guts. On the other hand, when you write

Hi, Fritz,

Blah, blah, blah . . .

you are not describing Fritz in any way. You are simply talking to Fritz directly. So you set off Fritz’s name as you would in any other situation when directing your comments specifically to a person: “Fritz, may I have a word with you in my office?” “In my opinion, Tricia, you’re about to make a big mistake.” “Why did you, Pongo, of all people, attend this meeting?” “How did you know where we ate lunch, Elena?”

The misunderstanding in thinking that those two greetings are the same and therefore should be punctuated the same way spills over into general writing. 

Playing therapist now, I’m guessing that the origin of this recent habit is also email greetings: Because email writers have become so accustomed to the contagiously incorrect “Hi Paul—” opening, they are failing to set off all names of people they’re talking to in their sentences:

Incorrect:

Hi Hank.
What do you think Frank?
Tricia is it you that I will be presenting the report to on Friday?
In my opinion Fritz the software is the real problem.
I don’t understand Pudge why we weren’t given a chance to bid on this project.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. When you’re talking to someone, you have to get that person’s attention: Set off the name with commas so that the reader pauses before and after, and takes notice that you’re speaking directly to him or her.

This habit has gotten way out of control: “Thanks Spike.” “See you later Dilbert.” “Hey Kilpatrick are you attending the meeting on Thursday?” Without the comma and pause, Spike, Dilbert, and Kilpatrick may doze right through such comments, not realizing that you’re talking to him. Instead, look him in the eye, address him directly, and slap him upside the head with that comma to get his attention.

Hi, Hank—
Thanks, Spike!
See you later, Dilbert.
Hey, Kilpatrick, are you attending the meeting on Thursday?

When you talk to people, punctuate so that they’ll listen.

Memory Tip

When talking to people directly, add the comma, and figuratively pause until they look you in the eye.

Commas between subjects and verbs

Too many commas in your sentence contribute to amusement, irritation, and even misreading.  Why irritation?  People like to control their own reading pace.  Slow them with commas only for clarity or other good reasons.  And never trick them by tossing in an inappropriate comma that changes the meaning of the sentence (more about that in another blog).  But here’s the most frequently used unnecessary and incorrect comma—tossed in between subject and verb.

Incorrect:

Growing the company through acquisitions, has been a challenge.
Seeing the CEO resign, made people in the company uneasy about their future.
Anyone who has been trained in design and development, knows the importance of pre-planning.

Correct:

Growing the company through acquisitions has been a challenge.
Seeing the CEO resign made people in the company uneasy about their future.
Anyone who has been trained in design and development knows the importance of pre-planning.

Memory Tip

If you can’t give a specific reason for a comma, don’t cause a hiccup in the flow of thoughts.

Okay, so if any of these errors have plagued you in the past, you now have the skinny. Go out and celebrate National Punctuation Day!

Posted at 11:47am in Communication—Oral, Communication—Written, General Communication, Grammar, Technical Writing | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Many kids cut their teeth on the negatives at home and school—even when the intention is good: 

• “Don’t forget your coat.”
• “Don’t leave your bike in the driveway. It’s going to get run over.”
• “Stop fooling around at the table and eat. You’re going to be late.”
• “Don’t forget your key. You’ll be locked out for the rest of the day.”
• “Get off the computer. Can’t you find something else to do?”
• “If you don’t study, you’ll never get into college.”

In the workplace, the negatives continue—to staff, to peers, to customers, to the public:

• “Do not use this door.”
• “You’ll have to sign in first.”
• “You don’t have authorization to approve an expenditure of more than $10,000.”
• “I can’t have the paperwork ready before Friday.”
• “We don’t have any openings today.”
• “That idea will never fly.”

Consider the difference in these positive instructions to kids:

• “Remember your coat.”
• “Put your bike in the garage so it stays safe. I’m sure you don’t want it run over.”
• “Eat quickly. We have to leave in ten minutes.”
• “Keep your key handy so you won’t be locked out for the rest of the day.”
• “How about shooting some baskets with me?”
• “If you study hard and make good grades, chances are good that you can get into any college you want—maybe even on a scholarship.”

The switch to positive communication in the workplace might look like this:

• “Use this door during the remodeling period.”
• “Please sign in first for faster service.”
• “You’re authorized to approve expenditures up to $10,000.”
• “I can have the paperwork ready Friday.”
• “We’ll have openings tomorrow.”
• “I have a different perspective on that issue.  The way I see it is that …”

Try the positive mindset as a frame for your communication; listeners will like it—as long as it’s genuine.

Posted at 10:26am in Communication—Interpersonal, General Communication | Permalink | Add Comment » |

At the risk of offending, I’m posing a question here that maybe some of you can weigh in on with your theories. Though not something that keeps me awake at night, my curiosity grows year by year—in fact, every time we post a job opening and go through the interviewing process as we’ve just now done.

Question: Why do journalism majors have much weak grammar skills than English majors? Or, let me put that more positively: Why do English majors have much stronger grammar skills than journalism majors?

Here’s how I stumbled on this surprising situation: As a communication training firm, our company provides a variety of writing courses such as business writing, technical writing, proposal writing, and so forth. So as you can imagine, part of our assessment process for ALL job applicants is to test their writing and grammar skills—despite the fact that most résumés for a consulting position list a master’s degree or doctoral degree. About half of those applying for such positions have a degree in either English, journalism, or mass communication.

English majors score, on average, about 25 percent higher on the grammar tests than the average test taker does. Journalism and mass communication majors score no higher than the average test taker (say, a non-degreed administrative assistant, a bookkeeper, or an engineer).

Possible theories as to why the discrepancies:

1. Curricula for English majors require more grammar courses and reward students that meet recognized grammar standards.
2. English majors study more poetry and understand that sentence structure and punctuation dictate meaning.
3. Journalism majors study interviewing style, reporting technique, and getting the unique angle rather than writing style.
4. Scrambling to meet deadlines and competing for breaking news, journalists value speed over precision and clarity in their writing.
5. Grammar classes aren’t as engaging as interviewing classes.

If anybody out there has a different theory on this strange situation that has surfaced through the years of interviewing and testing job applicants, please speak up.

Posted at 11:13am in Grammar | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Last year researchers at Oxford University published a list of the most irritating words and phrases. (Read my blog post and the Oxford list here.) Executives have now come up with their own list of overused clichés in the workplace.

“When business or industry terms become overused, people stop paying attention to them,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps, one of the world’s largest staffing firms, asked 150 senior executives, “What is the most annoying or overused phrase or buzzword in the workplace today?” Their responses included these:

Most Annoying / Overused Phrases or Buzzwords:

• Leverage: As in, “We intend to leverage our investment in IT infrastructure across multiple business units to drive profits.”
• Reach out: As in, “Remember to reach out to customers impacted by the change.”
• It is what it is: As in, “The server is down today, and clients are irate. It is what it is.”
• Viral: As in, “Our video has gone viral.”
• Game changer: As in, “Transitioning from products to solutions was a game changer for our company.”
• Disconnect: As in, “There is a disconnect between what the consumer wants and what the product provides.”
• Value-add: As in, “We have to evaluate the value-add of this activity before we spend more on it.”
• Circle back: As in, “I’m heading out of the office now, but I will circle back with you later.”
• Socialize: As in, “We need to socialize this concept with our key stakeholders.”
• Interface: As in, “My job requires me to interface with all levels of the organization.”
• Cutting edge: As in, “Our cutting-edge technology gives us a competitive advantage.”

The next time one of these words or phrases starts to roll off your tongue, shut your mouth. Instead aim for originality and specificity.

(Read the rest of the survey results.)

Posted at 12:56pm in Communication—Interpersonal, Communication—Oral, Communication—Sales, Communication—Written, General Communication, Potpourri | Permalink | Add Comment » |

Pity the poor person who has to translate the ubiquitous phrase “I’m good” in the current vernacular. The phrase rivals “stuff” for frequency and variety in meaning.

A couple of nights ago I was out to dinner with friends, and I became fixated on the phrase as it was bandied back and forth across the table.

As soon as we were seated (we had no reservations and they had accommodated our group anyway in a high-traffic area rather than turn us away), the maître’d asked, “Is this table okay?”

“We’re good. Thanks so much,” our host for the evening assured him.

Three in our dinner party were new to the others, so we exchanged pleasantries. The usual what do you do for a living? Do you have family? How do you know Joe? That sort of thing. Then we dug into the details one by one….

“So, Frank, you mentioned you used to work at IBM. Did you like sales?”

“Well, I’m good at sales. I like giving presentations, meeting people, solving problems. But I have to believe in the product or the service. That’s what it comes down to. So yes, I like selling and I’m good at it. That’s why I’m coming out of retirement to dip my hand back into this new opportunity.”

“You mentioned living in Orlando back in the l990s. Did you know Pete Sanders?”

He did. We did the ‘what-a-small-world’ routine, and he summed up with, “Pete’s a good man.”

A few minutes later: “So have you seen Meryl Streep’s latest movie?”

“Yes, it’s good.”

A few moments later, the waiter came by to refill after-dinner drinks. He asked my husband, “Do you want more coffee?”

“No, I’m good,” he said.

As we were leaving the restaurant, the out-of-towners climbed into their rental car headed back to the hotel for the night and then to catch a very early morning flight the next day. Wanting to be helpful, I leaned toward their car window, “Since you said you didn’t have a GPS, do you know your way back to the airport?”

“Yes, we’re good. See you!”

Posted at 2:35pm in Communication—Interpersonal, General Communication | Permalink | Add Comment » |