Along with the shift toward digital communication channels, our society’s collective vocabulary has begun to…shrink, somewhat.
Before I ruffle any feathers, let’s make a distinction: simplification has been valuable in communications since the first compound subordinate grunt led to a cave-brawl. Even among the most intellectual audiences, simple and direct sentence structure is the most effective way to communicate.
What I’m seeing is different. To be a little provocative, we’ve moved beyond simplicity (which we never really mastered anyway) to blather. I receive emails that so blatantly disregard the fundamentals of grammar and word-meaning that I am forced to “put myself in their shoes” and try to guess at what they might mean. On several occasions, I have actually been forced to reply with the meek request that the sender, “use complete sentences” so that I can understand what they are saying.
And if you think this is only email and Twitter behavior, think again. Even in our political discourse, which has typically favored the more eloquent, I have seen President Obama’s precise language denounced and Sarah Palin’s inscrutable rhetoric praised for being “down-to-earth”. (This is in no way a political statement; any objective analysis of a Palin transcript will prove the above claim.)
Lest any of us be tempted into the progressive devolving of our language, let me say this: words mean things. Grammar may be high-brow when strictly applied, but it’s there for a reason: “See spot run” and, “Spot see and run” are different phrases. The implications are admittedly slight at the Spot level, but what about in the business world? The complexity of most businesses is far too great to short-change your efforts with gobbledegook.
Ultimately, words convey messages to others. By all means, be simple. Please, don’t use lofty vocabulary just for fun. But I beg of you: take care to say what you really mean. Don’t communicate lazily; be precise and clear.