Scott's Blog - Page 58 of 59 - Scott Flood Writing

IT’S YOUR PROBLEM, NOT THEIRS

September 24, 2009 by Scott Flood

Every now and then, I’ll get a request from a client to write something that clarifies some existing instructions or procedures. When I ask the reason for the clarification, I’m nearly always told that the customers or other audience just doesn’t get it. They just don’t understand. They aren’t acting the way we want them to act, or following the steps in the order we prefer.

My job then becomes crafting magic words that will transform these miscreants into conformists. And it’s nearly always a waste of time.

ESCHEWING OBFUSCATION

September 22, 2009 by Scott Flood

Wisdom shows up in the oddest places sometimes. While visiting the Society of Physics Students lounge at Purdue with my son, I pointed to a phrase someone had tacked on the wall, and told Joe that it was one of my favorite expressions. The sign said “Eschew Obfuscation.”

Okay, I realize that a lot of people reading this are now getting ready to click over to TMZ or something that’s not quite as painful, but eschewing obfuscation isn’t complicated. In more common terms, it means the same thing as the time-honored “keep it simple, stupid.”

JIST PLANE REDICULOUS

September 17, 2009 by Scott Flood

In a recent post, I poked a little fun at people whose complete trust of spellcheckers occasionally puts them in awkward positions, such as inadvertently apologizing for their lack of bladder control (sorry for the incontinence!).

Then there are those who don’t seem to notice that spellcheckers exist. Am I the only one who has noticed that the most common Internet spelling of “ridiculous” is “rediculous”? That “probably” has become “prolly” online? “Frustrated” has people “flusterated”? If you follow any online forums, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

WHY, I EXCLAIM! AND EXCLAIM!

September 15, 2009 by Scott Flood

A writer friend once opined that everyone should be allotted a set number of exclamation points at birth, and once they’ve used up their share, they’re done. Can’t use any more. I think that makes far more sense than any recent piece of legislation I’ve seen.

NOT NEARLY AS SORRY AS WE ARE

September 10, 2009 by Scott Flood

I’ve seen it on signs, in letters, and on emails: people revealing a little more than they want us to know about them. Well, they really didn’t mean to share that information with us, but in an act of carelessness (or maybe even ignorance), they offered a confession and an apology: “Sorry for the incontinence.”

THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT TIP FOR SCRIPTS

September 8, 2009 by Scott Flood

If you’re writing something that will be presented, recorded, or just spoken aloud, there’s a very simple way to make it even more effective.

AL FRANKEN AND RUDY GIULIANI AGREE?

September 3, 2009 by Scott Flood

John Kerry is a smart guy. No question about it. But the reason he’s still a Senator and not a President may have more to do with his choice of words than his political stances. At least that’s what Dr. Frank Luntz suggests, and I’m inclined to agree. Folks as dissimilar as Al Franken and Rudy Giuliani sing the good doctor’s praises.

In “Words That Work” (published by Hyperion and subtitled “It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear”), the conservative pollster and cable TV news pundit discusses the role word choices have played in everything from political campaigns to labor negotiations to traffic stops. “The most effective language clarifies rather than obscures,” he writes.

JANET IN THE SHOWER

August 31, 2009 by Scott Flood

Alfred Hitchcock’s most-loved movies are nearing their 50th birthdays. And while the years since classics like “Rear Window” and “The Birds” have seen hundreds of horror films, few even begin to approach the visceral terror that Sir Alfred could stir. How could that be, given that today’s movies offer new levels of blood, gore and special effects?

Simple. He knew that the most effective horror wasn’t what played out on the screen. It was what happened inside the viewer’s mind. Take Janet Leigh’s demise in “Psycho.” Today’s director would spare no expense in giving us a colorful glimpse into Miss Leigh’s innards as Anthony Perkins performed his crude dissection. Blood, bile, and the occasional organ would splatter on the lens, leading us to rethink the gallon of Coke and pound of Raisinets we downed during the coming attractions.

I ENDEAVOR YOU TO ENDEAVOR ME

August 26, 2009 by Scott Flood

Remember when Cheap Trick serenaded Budokan with “I endeavor you to endeavor me/I desire you to desire me”? No, you don’t quite remember the lyrics sounding like that?

Why did Robin Zander and company sing “I want you to want me/I need you to need me” instead of the substitutions in the last paragraph? Heck, “want” and “need” are short, boring words. They wouldn’t impress anyone, would they?

What you say, what they see

August 25, 2009 by Scott Flood

One of my favorite stories about word choices is the one about the hospital that decided to open a walk-in clinic to compete with local freestanding clinics. The medical staffers who served on the hospital’s board chose to call it an “ambulatory” clinic, because to medical folks, “ambulatory” means that an individual is capable of walking.

The expected business didn’t materialize, and the hospital didn’t understand why consumers weren’t flocking through the doors. So they conducted a little bit of research and uncovered the reason: consumers saw the word “ambulatory” and assumed that it was intended for patients who arrived in ambulances.