PCB Blog - Zero Defect
Zero Defect |
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| 2011/07/01 | ||
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By: Nicky Grieshaber
We can get pretty upset when people and organisations we deal with don’t get things right, and statements like these are fairly common: “How could the salaries clerk make a mistake on my salary slip?” “How dare that furniture store send me a statement that does not reflect last month’s payment?” “What’s the world coming to? Do you that my child’s teacher copied her maths mark incorrectly on to her report! Un-be-lie-vable!” Such reactions prove one thing: whether consciously or subconsciously, we expect zero defect from others. And we probably firmly believe that zero defect is what we ourselves constantly strive for (and attain?), whether we’re providing a service, adding figures, or driving our cars. Why is it, then, that are we prepared to settle for such appallingly low standards when it comes to language and communication? We tolerate terrible punctuation, gloss over shocking grammar and often don’t even notice the misspelling of words and names. And we may even be guilty of not trying our best in these areas ourselves. Do we use a dictionary when we’re in doubt about the meaning or spelling of a word? Do we pay attention to our commas, full stops and capital letters? Or is the feeling that as long as our message is more or less clear, these things don’t really matter? I wonder whether we appreciate sufficiently that taking the trouble to communicate with care, especially when we’re writing, signals courtesy and respect to those we are addressing. I find it extremely heartening when people ask me about correct and acceptable usage, particularly in response to something they may have heard on TV or seen in print – there are evidently still many people around who care enough to want to “get it right”. The public image of a business is significantly enhanced when it is seen to pay careful attention to language usage. Although zero defect is not always easy to attain, it is worth striving for, and the additional time and effort expended will pay dividends.
Nicky Grieshaber, www.nickygrieshaber.co.za, http://nickywrites.blogspot.com |
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| Tags: Communicate(1) Language(3) | ||
| Comments | ||
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Mark 2011/07/01 12:19:43 PM Bottom line, there are much more important things to worry about, like putting food on the table and Julius Malema. Let the majors be majors and the minors be minors and choose your battle | ||
