The KellyGram

Wisdom and Wit About the Wonderful and Often Wacky World of Words

At the May 2007 meeting of National Speakers Association-Arizona, we presented a brief program on how speakers can become better writers. Our focus was on three important and often neglected components of good writing: readability, brevity and accuracy.

The late newspaper publisher and editor Joseph Pulitzer touched on all three: "Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light."

Having covered "readability" in June and "brevity" in July, our topic this month is accuracy.

The Accuracy Key

This quote by 16^th century theologian John Calvin is among my favorites. "I consider looseness with words," he wrote, "no less of a defect than looseness of the bowels."

Choosing the right words is much more important in writing than in speaking. We hear the spoken word only for an instant, but the written word is "permanently" recorded for all to see. Homonyms (same sound, different meanings) are a good example. In speaking, it doesnt matter, but pick the wrong one when youre writing, and it becomes a glaring error.

Some recent examples weve seen: "higher" instead of "hire," "complaisant" instead of "complacent," "site" instead of "cite," "populous" instead of "populace," and "waiver" instead of "waver." Use them in a speech and no one will know the difference, but they become glaring errors in writing.

If you rely on the Spelling/Grammar software on your computer to catch your mistakes, thats an even bigger mistake. Every one of the incorrect words we cited in the preceding paragraph would escape detection by a spellchecker, and the majority of the grammar suggestions in Microsoft Word reflect a limited knowledgeat bestof English grammar by whoever wrote them.

Punctuations also very important: a misplaced comma or colon can completely change the meaning of what youre writing. The following sentence means one thing: "A woman without her man is nothing." Add a colon after "woman," and a comma after "her," and you have: "A woman: without her, man is nothing," the completely opposite meaning.

The correct use of quotation marks is also importantand rather complex. The Chicago Manual of Style, which is used by nearly all book publishers, includes more than 40 rules about using quotation marks correctly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE POWER OF A PLAN

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The importance of planning isnt exactly a new concept. "Our plans miscarry because they have no aim," wrote Roman philosopher and poet Seneca a couple of thousand years ago.

For many of us, the planning process often seems to take a back seat to more pressing issues. "A business plan is too complex," we think, "or I just dont have time to do one."

In 2004, former Fortune 500 executive Jim Horan wrote: "The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur," followed by two volumes aimed, respectively, at consultants and nonprofit leaders. In his books, Horan has distilled the once-painstaking process of planning into the answers to five basic questions:

• What am I (or we) building?
• Why am I (or we) building it?
• How am I (or we) going to build it?
• What results do I (or we) need to measure?
• Whats the specific work that needs to be done?

Our colleague and client, Les Taylor, is the owner of Achievement Solutions, a consulting firm which specializes in helping individuals and organizations become more effective planners, using Horans one-page planning process. In October, hell be conducting two half-day workshops on "The One Page Business Plan."

The first, for entrepreneurs and business executives, will be held on Thursday, October 11, at the Arizona Small Business Association offices in Phoenix. The second workshop, for nonprofit leaders, is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16, in the conference center at East Valley Bible Church in Gilbert.

For more information, or to register, visit www.achievement-solutions.com, and click on "Workshops," or call (480) 940-8700.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SMILE AWHILE

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We regret to announce the passing last month of the veteran Pillsbury spokesman Pop-N-Fresh Doughboy. His death was attributed to a severe yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin, and the gravesite was piled high with flours. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as "a man who never knew how much he was kneaded." Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He wasnt considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. A crusty old man who was a little flaky at times, he was nevertheless considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, his son John Dough, and two daughters, Jane Dough and Cookie Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ODDS AND ENDS

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back Issues:

All previous issues of The KellyGram, dating back to January 2003, are available on our website: http://www.wordcrafters.info/back_issues.html.

Privacy Policy:

Your privacy is very important to us. We assure you that under no circumstances will we share, distribute, publish, give away or sell our mailing lists or other information about you to any other party.

Reprint Permission:

You may copy or distribute excerpts from The KellyGram by using the following credit line: "The following is taken from the August 2007 issue of The KellyGram, and is used with permission." We will appreciate receiving copies of any publications in which you use materials contained herein. Thank you.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe:

If this issue was forwarded to you and youd like to receive it regularly at no cost, please subscribe either by email at bob@kellygram.com or by using the form at http://www.wordcrafters.info/newsletters.html.

If you are currently a subscriber but no longer wish to receive The KellyGram from us, you may unsubscribe by clicking on the link above.

If you know of others who might like to receive The KellyGram, please forward this issue to them.

Comments/Questions:

Your comments and questions are always welcome. Please contact us at bob@kellygram.com, or call Bob Kelly at (480) 895-7617.

Answer to Fun with Words:

1) The name of the song is "With a Little Bit of Luck," from My Fair Lady.

2) Charles "Lucky" Luciano

3) "Good night and good luck," by Edward R. Murrow

4) Its known as "The luck of the Irish."

5) Popularized on mid-20^th century radio commercials, the acronym stands for "Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco."

6) The name of the song is "Luck Be a Lady Tonight," from Guys and Dolls

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE LAST WORD

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read, every day, something no one else is reading.
      Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.
Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.
      It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.

(Christopher Morley 1890-1957)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2007 by Bob Kelly. All rights reserved.