Business Writing

Make Microsoft Find Passives

Does your Microsoft Office grammar and spelling checker ever flag passive verbs in your writing? If not, do not assume your writing is free of passive verbs. Instead, assume that you do not have your grammar and spelling checker set to flag them.

To test your setup, type the sentence "The work should be done" in Microsoft Word or Outlook. If your grammar and spelling checker doesn't identify "should be done" as a passive verb phrase, you have to change your options.

To change your options, click the Tools menu, then Options. Then click the Spelling and Grammar tab.

In the lower right of the Spelling and Grammar box, Writing Style should be set at Grammar & Style--not Grammar Only. Change it to Grammar & Style, if necessary.

If you have an early version of Office, you may need to set Writing Style on Formal. Or you can click Settings, and then be sure that the box for Passive sentences is checked. It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with what is available under Settings so you get helpful grammar and spelling suggestions--not ones you always ignore.

Once your grammar and spelling checker is set to flag passive verbs, you can forget about them. Microsoft will do the work of identifying them for you. Although the software is not perfect, I find that it flags at least 90 percent of passive verb phrases.

When you get the message "Passive Voice (consider revising)" from your grammar and spelling checker, remember this: In some places, passive verbs are perfect. See my tip "Know Where Passive Verbs Belong" for examples of those places.

A final note on passive verbs: They have nothing to do with the psychological term "passive-aggressive." At least not in this blog!

Lynn

Procedures: No Place for Passive Verbs

In a recent Better Business Writing class, an accounts payable professional was working on several procedures she had brought to class to revise. They included these sentences:

Batches should be entered by 10 a.m.
The batch can then be given to the coordinator.
Ensure that all pays are entered in a timely manner.

Each of those sentences has a problem: a passive verb. Passive verbs weaken procedures and make them confusing.

Time out for a definition: A passive verb (also known as a verb in "passive voice") is a construction in which the subject does not perform the action.

Here are her sentences with the passive verbs underlined:

Batches should be entered by 10 a.m.
Batches is the subject, but the batches do not enter themselves. Someone should enter them, but the sentence does not tell who.

The batch can then be given to the coordinator.
Once again, batch, the subject, is not performing the action. Someone can give the batch to the coordinator, but the sentence does not tell who.

Ensure that all pays are entered in a timely manner.
Here the subject is you, as in "You ensure." But in the remainder of the sentence (a clause), pays is the subject. However, the clause does not state who is entering the pays.

As step-by-step instructions, procedures must be clear about who is doing what. That is why procedures are no place for passive verbs. The sentences below use active verbs (also known as verbs in "active voice"). They make it clear who should perform the action. It is you, the reader.

Enter the batches by 10 a.m.
Then give the batch to the coordinator.
Be sure to enter all pays in a timely manner.

Passive verbs have a bad reputation, but not all of it is deserved. They do have their perfect places. Please see my tip, "Know Where Passive Verbs Belong."

Tomorrow watch for a post on how to be sure your Microsoft Office spelling and grammar checker is finding passives for you.   

Lynn

When Resumes Lie

Last week I wrote about the importance of telling the truth in resumes, in a post called "The Power of the Truth." Since then, I found an interesting nugget of data in the December issue of T&D, published by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).

T&D published brief results of a survey of 2200 workers and more than 1000 hiring managers, completed by CareerBuilder.com. The survey, Resume Lies, found that although just 5 percent of workers admit to lying on their resumes, 57 percent of hiring managers say they have caught candidates in a lie. Of those who caught applicants in a lie, 93 percent did not hire the candidate.

Let's see . . . 5 percent lied, but 57 percent caught someone in a lie. Is someone in this survey not telling the truth?

Lynn

How to Format Phone Numbers

This week I received a proof for a booklet I am printing. Because the print run is 2000 copies, I wanted to be sure everything was perfect. That is why I double-checked how to render our business phone number in print. Coincidentally, Jennifer from Bozeman, Montana, wrote to me the same day, asking for guidance on "telephone number etiquette." Jennifer noted that she has seen graphic designers use periods (dots) between the parts of a telephone number instead of parentheses and hyphens.

Which style or format is correct? As usual, style guides differ. Of the ones on my bookshelf, The Gregg Reference Manual takes the most liberal approach. Gregg offers many possibilities, which I illustrate here with my office number:

206-782-8410  This format is most common, according to Gregg.

(206) 782-8410 This style is common, says Gregg, but can't be used when the telephone number itself appears in parentheses. Also, this format makes less sense in large metropolitan areas in which the area code is required even for local numbers.

All these are acceptable on letterhead and business cards, according to Gregg:
206/782-8410
206.782.8410
206 782 8410

To connect the parts of international phone numbers, Gregg uses hyphens.

Another style guide, Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, recommends parentheses around the area code, with the parts of the local number separated by a hyphen, like this:

(425) 555-0122

Microsoft labels the all-hyphen style as incorrect and does not even mention periods or dots.

For international numbers with country and city codes, Microsoft uses one set of parentheses around the country code followed by a second set enclosing the city code, like these codes for London, England: (44) (71). These numbers in parentheses are followed by the local number rendered in the style used by the particular country.

The Associated Press Stylebook (AP) agrees with the Microsoft Manual--mostly. Like Microsoft, it rules that parentheses be used around the area code, with hyphens between the parts of a local number. However, AP uses one set of parentheses around both the country and city code, like this: (44-71) followed by the local number. AP advises against periods.

The Chicago Manual of Style offers no rules. It states only that parentheses are sometimes used around the area code but hyphens are more common.

The Canadian Press Stylebook uses hyphens.

How should telephone numbers be formatted? Based on my review of these reference books, I would say hyphens are the best bet.

But there is something much more important than format.

Before printing a few thousand copies of a booklet or business card, before placing that costly ad in the newspaper, be sure the phone number itself is correct. Check it several times. Then have someone else proofread it. When readers want to phone you, the number itself is far more important than any style choice.

Lynn

"Timely" or "On Time"?

I recently led a Better Business Writing class for a corporate tax department. It was a highly educated group--people with MBAs, master's degrees in taxation, and other impressive credentials. I am happy to say that they were educated and sophisticated enough to realize that improving their business writing would increase their effectiveness. They were a delight to work with.

One thing about their writing troubled me. They used the word timely as an adverb, like this:

We filed that tax return timely.
The quarterly payments were sent timely.

In my experience as a business writer and reader, I had seen timely used only as an adjective:

You must make timely payments. [meaning "on time"]
That was a timely phone call. [meaning "opportune" or "well timed"]

So when I read the tax department's writing in class, I stumbled over their use of timely. I wanted to change it to "on time" or "promptly." Yet they assured me they were correct--that their use of timely was standard in their field.

Were the members of the tax department correct? Can timely be used as an adverb?

Yes, they were correct. Consulting my American Heritage College Dictionary, I learned that timely is also an adverb meaning "in time" or "opportunely."

Once again, a reference book settled an issue. When you have disagreements about word usage, grammar, and punctuation, don't argue. Don't stew about them. Just check an up-to-date dictionary, style manual, or reference book. For suggestions, visit my website.

Along with a current reference book, use common sense. If neither you nor anyone in your group has heard or seen a particular word used in business writing, don't use it. I mention this caution because my dictionary shows another word that apparently means timely just below the timely entry on the page.

The word? Timeous, an adjective. The adverb form is timeously. Not even a tax department, filled with MBAs and statistical wizards, would use those forms. Of that I am certain. But if you doubt me, do an informal survey.

Timeous anyone?

Lynn

Jargon--To Use or Not to Use?

Jargon is a constant issue for writers: to use it or not to use it. I recently did NOT use it when I should have. Here is what happened:

I sent invoices to two clients and included this statement: "Payment is due within 20 days, or a 1 percent interest penalty will apply." Although both clients had agreed to this payment arrangement, in both cases I had not received payment after 25+ days. When I followed up, I learned that the Accounts Payable departments, whose job it was to pay the invoices on time, had not even noticed my statement. One let me know the problem:

If you expect payment within 20 days, write "Net 20." That is what we understand.

To me, "Net 20" is jargon. To Accounts Payable, it's the thing that gets their attention. My solution: use "Net 20" if I want to get paid within 20 days.

Here is another situation, but the writer opted for jargon:

Reading my email the other day, I noticed the title of the lead article in an e-newsletter, WebProNews: "Is SEO Rocket Science or a Colonoscopy?"  The writer had my attention with that odd question. To read on happily, all I needed to know was this: What is SEO?

I read the entire article. I still do not know what SEO is or what the piece was about. The author did not offer even a hint of a definition. He did say that SEO is neither rocket science nor a colonoscopy, so he answered his question, but there was nothing else there for me.

For that writer, an easy solution would be to define SEO just once. Readers like me would learn something. And readers who know the term already would not be offended by a brief definition or spelling out of the abbreviation, would they?

It all comes down to our readers. If we want our readers to see value in our articles or pay our invoices, we need to use language they recognize.

Lynn

The Power of the Truth

Yesterday I helped an acquaintance, Bob, update his resume. Bob is 55 years old and looking for a job in general maintenance. He has over 25 years of experience in this field, but his former employer was cutting costs.

As we went step by step through his old resume, we finally got to his education. He listed some maintenance training he had had, along with the words "high school graduate." He told me, "I fudged on that. I didn't actually graduate. I got my GED." (For those who don't recognize the abbreviation GED, it stands for "general equivalency diploma." A person with a GED has passed a test to demonstrate knowledge that equals a high school education.)

I fudged. That is an antiseptic way of saying "I lied," "I did not tell the truth," and "I faked it."

I told Bob that if he had a GED, he should write GED--not "high school graduate," which was a lie. He agreed.

Beyond the obvious ethical importance of telling the truth, the truth has power for the teller. Instead of telling himself "I fudged," Bob can now say, "I told the truth." That statement resonates with integrity, freedom, and independence.

Why be a slave to a lie? Why cover an employment gap by stretching the truth? Why disguise a low-level job with an inflated title? When we do these things, besides getting into ethical hot water, we send ourselves the message "I lied. I am a liar."

It can be difficult to find a job, especially at age 55. But it's much easier to find a job when one feels a sense of integrity, dignity, and personal pride.

Good luck, Bob! I am cheering for you!

Lynn

Writing to Please Everyone

During a class on resume writing last week, I was reminded of how a word, phrase, or sentence can get very different reactions from different people.

In a resume (C.V., curriculum vitae) we were discussing, the writer had listed satisfiers as a bullet point in her summary at the top of the page, like this:

• Satisfiers: Facilitating the work of others, simplifying processes, solving problems, establishing good relationships, and providing high-quality reports and information.

Also in her summary, she had listed her traits and the systems and software she had experience with.

When I asked for comments on the resume, one person said something like this: "What is this stuff about satisfiers? I couldn't get past that word. For me, it took all the focus off her and her skills and put it on that word."

Another person said, "I liked satisfiers. It showed me that she knows what she wants in a job."

These two people had completely different reactions to the same word. As we discussed other resumes, people repeatedly expressed differing views about whether something worked or did not work for them.

Luckily for job seekers, recruiters do not get stuck on particular words such as satisfiers. They look for strong matches in terms of job qualifications, and they look for reasons to screen people out: errors, inconsistencies, and lack of the required experience and skills. So to be successful with a resume, it's essential to meet the requirements and write a document free of errors and inconsistencies.

Beyond that, is it possible to write a resume in a way that pleases everyone?

No.

Individuals have different tastes. Some resume readers prefer a proud list of sizzling achievements. Others like a folksy focus on satisfiers, personal accomplishments, and connections with human beings. A few like unusual fonts and inventive, off-beat renderings. (A resume for a restaurant position written in the form of a menu?) Individual whims and preferences abound.

It is impossible to please everyone, but you don't need to. You need to please yourself and the people you hope will call you to schedule an interview.

Please yourself by writing a resume that really reflects you, your relevant work history, and the kind of job you are ready for now. Be sure you are comfortable with all the wording so that you feel confident when you send out your resume or present it.

Please the people you hope will interview you by being sure your resume clearly communicates what they need to know: your qualifications for the position, including your work experience, strengths, skills, traits, and other credentials. 

It's a good idea to try out your resume on people who think like your potential employer. Ask them: Is the content clear and correct? Do I sound like someone you would want to interview? Do you stumble over any of the words or statements? That way, you will find out whether a word like satisfiers distracts or impresses most readers. If something distracts most people who represent your potential employer, you will probably want to change it.

But don't change your resume every time you get a suggestion, or you will go crazy trying to please everyone. And you will spend too much time changing words when you should be meeting people who can hire you or help you with your job search.

You can't please everyone. When you get yet another suggestion, just say, "Thank you. I will consider that." Then please yourself.

Lynn

Want Some Fun? Why Not Diagram a Sentence?

Updating the links in my Writing Resources, I visited an old favorite site and experienced the nostalgia of diagramming sentences. The site is Guide to Grammar and Writing, sponsored by Capital Community College. Use this link for its useful, free PowerPoint presentations, including one on diagramming sentences.

As a girl (and a budding writing teacher), I excelled at diagramming sentences, but I have not done it in many years. It was fun to follow the slide presentation, to watch the subject and verb placed on the main branch, the modifiers added as stems. I even enjoyed disagreeing with one of the slides (disagreeing being a special pleasure of those who cherish the fine points of language).

In many business writing seminars, someone admits, "I use to love diagramming sentences. Will we do that?" We never do, in class. But for those of you who want to experience sentence diagramming, here is your chance. It may be plain compared with the latest slide shows, but if you have fond memories of diagramming sentences in chalk on blackboards, the low-tech approach will feel just right.

Credit: Professor Charles Darling created much if not all of the content on the Guide to Grammar and Writing site. He died last year. I never knew Professor Darling, but I am grateful for the generous spirit and love of teaching that fill the pages.

Lynn   

Business Cards & Principals

At this time of year, many people decide to move forward on plans to start their own business. As a first step in making their dream a reality, they design their business card. If you are in that exciting phase, please read this caution:

You are the president, the founder, or the principal--not the principle.

Deleting old email, I just saw that someone had signed up for my e-newsletter and given her title as "principle." She meant "principal." You can read my post on this subject here. However, all you need to remember is this:

Principle (le) means "rule" (le).

Example: Follow these three principles.

For any other meaning, use principal (al).

Principals, I hope you did not need this advice or are reading it before printing your new business cards. But if not, at least you now have your first mistake behind you. Congratulations!

Lynn