Won’t you be my neighbor?
An e-mail arrives: “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” I ask if we know each other.
She writes: “In response to your question, no. In fact, I’m not quite sure how your name came up on my list of invitees that I generated yesterday. Nonetheless, I’m glad that I have serendipitously discovered you and your work (yes, I just enjoyed reading a few blogs).
“I recently retired (no, withdrew my services) from teaching high school English and am in the awkward stage, once again, of reinventing myself,” she says. “Like you, words will always be the anchors that keep me afloat in between and during these stages.” May I edit that dangling modifier, please?
“I wish you continued success, Susan. Should you choose not to accept my invitation to LinkedIn, I understand completely. Have a happy-go-lucky Labor Day weekend.”
My turn: “LinkedIn and others recommend not connecting with strangers. Even though you don’t sound very strange, I think I’ll pass for now. Thanks. Susan.”
The floodgates open. The stranger rants: “Sad, not angry, is the feeling I described. I’m so glad because I find it sad when a woman feels she must hide her age to get empoyment (sic). People must be shocked when they meet you, a woman at least 66 yrs old, after viewing and expecting to meet the much, much younger version of you on the LinkedIn profile. No, we are not the same type at all. Good riddance!” So much for happy going lucky.
Just following LinkedIn’s advice – and my own good sense. For amusement, I reply: “Not hiding anything. I love that photo of myself, taken by a college roommate who became a Ford fashion model. My website has a newer picture, if you’d like to count my wrinkles.”
En garde. “Why are you telling me about a roommate from nearly half a century ago . . . .and did she really need to go to Penn to model? I was taken aback that you cared so much. I find it extremely pitiful that a women who purports to be educated, and you certainly seem to do that, could indulge her vanity so. Such behavior sends a very negative message.
“No, we are not rhe same type at all. Good riddance!”
Moral: Don’t connect with every kook who e-mails you.
WANTED: Writing coach
Do you need to find a writing coach for managers and executives? If you are a leader in training or human resources, you might.
Consider credentials. Don’t hire a soccer coach to motivate a swimming team. Don’t hire a specialist in organizational development to coach employees in telecommuting. Don’t hire a high-school English teacher to coach an executive.
Since no single consultant fits all organizations, look for an experienced coach to match your organization’s goals and the needs of your staff. Find someone who
- Listens to you describe your current situation.
- Agrees to create customized programs for your people.
- Works well with people at all levels of your organization.
I have recently coached these three professionals:
- Joe, a 29-year-old Temple University graduate from the Czech Republic, working in marketing for a manufacturer of sporting goods. I helped him hone his writing skills for communicating to young adults craving expensive sneakers.
- Tina, a 49-year-old human-resources professional whose recent promotion had her editing the writing of others on her team. After discussing kind ways to edit – using green ink instead of red, for instance – we agreed to create a style manual to guide all copy that emanates from her department. Now no one thinks of her as critical, because every possibility has been thought out and addressed.
- Margo, a 35-year-old recovering accountant shifting into the communications field. We worked on starting with catchy openers, using the active voice and identifying and deleting extraneous words.
Find the writing coach you need for the writing problems you face.
It is what it is.
It is what it is captured my attention the first three times I heard the phrase. Those three times might have been before 11 on a single workday. The only time the idiom grabbed me was when my nearly-4-year-old granddaughter was patiently explaining one of her daddy’s frustrating habits. When I asked why he behaved that way, she shrugged and said, aptly, “It is what it is.” Now, when I speak those words, I quote her.
A recent Accountemps survey cites iiwii as one of the most hackneyed terms in the workplace. It ranks with “at the end of the day,” a “disconnect” between people and “viral” phrases.
“When business or industry terms become overused, people stop paying attention to them,” says Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies. “The best communicators use clear and straightforward language that directly illustrates their points.” My 3 other favorites:
- Leverage: As in, “We intend to leverage our investment in infrastructure across multiple business units to drive profits.”
- Circle back: As in, “I’m heading out now, but I will circle back with you later.”
- Cutting edge: As in, “Our cutting-edge technology gives us a competitive advantage.”
Read more here.
Lesson to be learned: Choose other words instead of using clichés.
LBJ took the IRT
Remember those lyrics? “LBJ took the IRT”? They begin the “Initials” song in Hair.
I have recently learned two new abbreviations that also make me sing.
David, a member of the Philadelphia Writers Group, mentioned TLA. In Philadelphia, TLA stands for the Theater of the Living Arts. In the larger world, David says, it means a 3-letter abbreviation, such as USA, FBI and CIA (all of which appear in “Initials”).
So I was thrilled when Helen, whom I am coaching to improve her writing, offered me a four-letter abbrev that is new to me: HBCU. It stands for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I Googled it and found hbcu.com. Wish I could work it into “Initials.”
What new or new-to-you abbrevs have you learned recently? Please send them here.
Client mandatories
I am coaching a young man at an advertising/public relations firm. We’re working on his writing. He writes memos referring to client mandatories, which I gently suggest is not a word. He is astonished. The firm uses the word so often, everyone on staff believes it exists. To them it describes the products the client has mandated that they supply.
What word have you — or has your organization — created?
