STOP: Grammar Time

Me don’t thinks people knows how to yous that grammar thing no more.  And they don’t care none neither.

 Think the above sentences are funny?  They’re not funny to me.  They’re real.  Every day my inboxes are flooded with emails from well-meaning individuals who have no idea how to effectively communicate in writing.  What’s even scarier?  They don’t care.  Scarier still?  When I hunt them down to have the conversation in person because I don’t understand their email I sometimes still can’t understand the message they’re trying to communicate.

I’ve been noticing this trend over the past couple of years so it seems it’s not specific to one particular geographic location, workplace, or any other factor I can really put my finger on.  I’ve discussed it with some grammar-minded friends and every time we talk about it we wind up scratching our heads.  Why is this happening?

 Occasionally when I’ve gone off on tangents about this people have asked why I think grammar and spelling are so important.  People have openly told me that it’s not important to them.  And I’ve actually been told “there’s not time to worry about grammar, Stevie”.  Well this is just preposterous.  Here are some of the reasons I think grammar is important:

1. Using proper grammar and spelling allows the recipient of a message to quickly comprehend what’s being said.  There’s no going back and trying to figure out what the message is supposed to mean.  That’s a waste of time.
2. Using proper grammar and spelling establishes that the communicator does, in fact, know what he or she is talking about.  Here’s what I mean: if you received a message telling you that Jupiter was no longer considered a planet and the message was full of spelling and grammatical errors, would you be inclined to believe it was true?  If you received the same message but in perfect English (or whatever language you prefer) with no errors, would that message sound more credible?  Of course it would.
3. Written communication from an individual is his or her brand.  When something is put into writing or even spoken, it becomes a reflection of you.  I, for one, want my personal “brand” to be as strong and reputable as possible.   

So what gives?  Why the disintegration of good communication?  I have a few theories.

At first I thought maybe it was a generational thing.  Being on the cusp of Gen X and Gen Y (the Millennials) I have a lot of insight into both.  The Millennials are very different in communication style.  They grew up in an age of social networking, so the MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, texting and IM styles are engrained in their communication.  People don’t write the same way in those venues as they do in more formal communications.  But who says that’s “OK”? 

So maybe it’s about education.  Have the school systems gotten that bad?  It seems to me that the level of grammar we see today would NOT have been acceptable in even sixth grade 15 years ago.  Maybe we should pay our educators more…. That’s a whole different can of worms. 

Is it the employers we should blame?  How can we promote people who do not have a solid grasp of basic language?  “Because they can effectively get the job done without being effective communicators, Stevie.”  That’s just scary. 

I am FAR from perfect with regard to grammar and spelling.  But I think it is really important to at least TRY.  I want my communication to be a positive reflection of who I am.  Am I alone?  Does anyone else care?  Am I blowing it out of proportion?  Am I crazy?  Or is it a problem beyond hope?

Get Motivated? My out-of-body experience at a business seminar

I love a good pep talk.  A great inspirational speech from someone I admire can really revitalize me and increase my personal and professional productivity.  So naturally when the Get Motivated! Business Seminar came to an arena near me I was all about it.  Bring on the lectures!  Teach me to be more effective!  Help me be a better leader!  I’ll even get up at 5:30 am to ensure I make it there on time (that’s very early for me).

 I entered the arena full of anticipation and excitement for the learning which was about to commence.  I had the $20 workbook I had purchased at a table by the concession stands, my favorite pens, an extra notebook in case I needed more space to write, and my iPad (in case all the writing tired me and I needed  to type my copious notes instead).  I was ready.  I was a sponge waiting to soak up wisdom from the leaders and motivators who were about to present prolific speeches.

The lights dimmed and our first speaker took the stage:  Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine.  “Alright!” I thought.  “We’ve got someone wildly successful who will give us a step-by-step guide to achieving our own personal success!”  I sat poised with pen in hand, workbook in lap, ready to write down each and every step to glorious success.  Imagine my disappointment when Mr. Forbes launched into a speech full of right-winged rhetoric on taxes, healthcare and other hot-button issues.  At the culmination of his speech I looked, surprised, at the completely blank workbook page in front of me.  “Nothing?  I found nothing in his talk worth writing down?”  Surely I was in a funk.  Perhaps it was too early and I was grumpy.  Maybe I had briefly fallen asleep and missed the part where he gave us helpful hints or maybe a tip or trick to achieving success (it was still before 9 am after all).  I resolved to be a better listener for the next presenter.

Next up: Laura Bush.  I’m not a fan of any of the Bushes, but what had Laura ever done to me?  Nothing.  I was certain she would have something motivating to say.  Twenty or so minutes later I had listened to an update about each member of the Bush family, an attempt to improve the image of her husband (nice try, Mrs. Bush), and some story about W throwing out the first pitch at a Yankees game.  And then it was over.  “What??” I said to myself.  “Where was the inspirational part?  Where was the call to action?”  I referred to my notes.  There was one sentence, a quotation about which I planned to write later: “Sometimes you have to work hard just to recognize yourself”.  Well, yea Mrs. Bush.  I’m having a hard time recognizing the me who’s sitting here right now listening to this crap.

At this point I had to have a real heart-to-heart with myself.  I was here to learn, grow and be motivated.  Not to be a cynical naysayer.  But man, it was getting to be hard work upholding that positive attitude.  I was able to pull it together and get some good points from Colin Powell’s talk.  I even had an action item to do a thorough self-assessment of myself as a leader: he had brought up some really good points.  Things were looking up!

Next speaker: Bob Kittell.  I didn’t know who he was, but I was ready for what he had to say.  He started the presentation with a great call to action and some motivational words, and as he was wrapping up what I considered to be the best presentation of the day so far he hit us in the face with it: he was selling us his seminars!! Sure enough, I did a quick look-back on what this man had said in the last 30 minutes and it could have been straight out of a sales text book.  My cynical self engulfed me and any hope I had for being motivated was gone.

After lunch we heard from Dr. Robert Schueller (his church was bankrupt), Zig Zigler (he was suffering from short-term memory loss so most of the presentation was video clips of his inspirational speeches from 20 years ago), and some ridiculous man named James Smith who appeared to be drunk and seemed to think he was God.  He managed to offend me on every level. I grabbed by purse and started to walk out in protest, but upon looking at the enthralled sheep sitting to my right and my left, and seeing the elderly individuals who I would have to climb over to get out, I changed my mind.  I waited until this guy was done selling us on a real estate investment seminar and followed the hypnotized attendees who were now dashing up the stairs to grab a clipboard and pay their last $50 for admission to a seminar which would ultimately not benefit them (I mean, you have to have money to make money, right?).  I followed them up the stairs and I proceeded to walk out.

I sat in the car on the way home reflecting on what I had learned that day.  I had learned how to give a damn good sales presentation. I had learned that I wasn’t the only one out there who felt lost from time to time and needed inspiration.  I realized that maybe my cynical view-point was right after all: If you want to be more effective go to work and do better! If you want to be a better leader observe the greats and replicate their behavior. If you want to learn READ.  More often than not, a glitzy, cheesy seminar will not give you what you need.  And the final lesson: if you love a good pep-talk, for God’s sake go to someone who has given you a good one before.

Oh and P.S. I was also really glad the ticket was free.