Watching My Language!
I greatly enjoyed Lucy Kellaway’s weekly column in the FT on 6 January. Lucy was giving her annual awards for the worst use of English in management communications. Lucy wades in to the turning of nouns into verbs, eg “to solution”! Chief Obfuscation Champion award goes to the CEO who wrote “As brands build out a world footprint, they look for the no-holds-barred global POV that’s always been part of our wheelhouse”!
My favourite was the Best Euphemism for Firing People, awarded this time to one of the major banks. It had announced it had “demised” some staff. Lucy said that the bank had achieved the impossible - inventing a euphemism that sounded harsher than the actuality.
Whilst smiling, I found myself feeling uncomfortable that maybe I’d succumbed once or twice to using weasel words to soften the blow in a report to a client. Perhaps many of us have at some time. But isn't our professional duty to use plain language – tell it like it is and not try to spare clients' feelings?
The delicious article is in full at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/8b333e00-73e1-11e3-beeb-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F8b333e00-73e1-11e3-beeb-00144feabdc0.html%3Fsiteedition%3Duk&siteedition=uk&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ft.com%2Fsearch%3FqueryText%3Dkellaway (there is a free subscription option for viewing rights)
WCoMC at the National Youth Orchestra
A week ago Karen and I attended the Winter Concert of the fine National Youth Orchestra. The Company is well known to the NYO as they have performed at our grandest annual events in recent years, including the 2013 Celebration Dinner. In addition in a personal capacity Third Warden Noorzaman Rashid is a Governor of the Orchestra and other members of the Company have a close relationship.
NYO in Rehearsal!
It may not be widely known that our Company sponsors a Seat in the orchestra. One of the First Violins to be precise. It was a great pleasure to see the Company’s name in the programme!
Once again, one was full of admiration for what youngsters, some as young as 14 years and with expert tuition, leadership and opportunity, can achieve in terms of musical excellence and in playing together with absolute precision.
Skinners Reception
The Master of the Skinners, our landlords, invited to a Reception the Masters and Clerks of the various Companies with Offices at their Hall the other evening. There is quite a community of Livery Companies there! Because the premises are a collection of originally separate but adjoining buildings, one is not aware of them all. As well as providing very suitable premises for us, this community provides a good network for advice!
E J Sankey
12/1/14