The Hindu Business Line : A lingo lifeboat to get your message across

WRITING good English must be one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Thus begins Anne Gregory's foreword to the latest edition of Effective Writing Skills for Public Relations by John Foster, from Kogan Page (www.vivagroupindia.com) . The difficulty arises because the language is rich and diverse, she explains. Also, the language is "constantly evolving in use and meaning." As a result, today's rules quickly become outdated.

"If the style is outmoded and all over the place, the reader will soon lose interest and might not even get beyond the first few sentences," writes Foster in his intro. "Every organisation should have a house style," he declares, and suggests the appointment of `style police officer' to ensure that everyone, from the director to the manager, follows the rules. Good if the style officer worked in style, unlike the English teacher in school with a cane in hand and a stern look on her face!

"Overuse of capitals, stilted phraseology and solid slabs of type unrelieved by sub-headings were all commonplace in the 1950s and 1960s," recounts the author, to explain how style has been changing. "Even now, it is not hard to find press releases ridden with banalities, boring headlines, `label' headings devoid of verb and verve, poorly punctuated reports and letters; and probably worst of all, inconsistencies in spelling," he rues.

Know that "hyphen masquerading as a dash is symptomatic of the lax attitude towards style," and that dropping hyphens to make one word "reduces clutter, speeds up the copy and helps the reader." If you have turned a `glancer' into a reader, and told him a story succinctly and in plain language, consistent in every respect, "then the style has worked, communication has done its job and the public relations effort has paid off." If you are still having second thoughts on whether to focus on effective communication, read this snatch from the book: "An analysis of the annual reports of Europe's top 100 companies by Prowse & Co, The Company Report Report 2004, concludes that the majority failed to communicate effectively to the target audiences."

Why is good style so important? Because it means good work and also good manners, says Foster. He devotes a chapter to apostrophe, a.k.a. `aerial comma' and `errant tadpole.' When Matthew Engel of Guardian had appealed for its abolition, Dr Bernard Lamb of the Queen's English Society pointed out that the apostrophe aids clarity: "If we had no apostrophes someone reading Mr Engel's article would not know if he was Engel or Engel's."

Another chapter, titled `Making Your Mark,' is about oft-ignored punctuation, the comma, stop, colon and interrogation mark. "They have a real and active purpose: to give the reader a breather, to give a pause and, at intervals, to provide a change of pace or thought," explains Foster. "They are like traffic signals to take and guide the reader along a piece of written work," is a helpful analogy, because the full stop is `the red light'; and the comma, `a yellow to provide a pause.' Don't over-punctuate, either, because you'd then end up with "complicated, obscure sentences and a `spotty' page."

Down with capitalism! Not a slogan, but the title of a chapter on how to resolve the frequent dilemma — to capitalise or not to. A line of type with the `up and down' look can quickly distract the eye and make reading difficult, explains Foster. "A continuous flow of small characters is easy on the eye and modern-looking."

Edit with the reader in mind, advises the author. "Always consider the appearance of the page when editing. Avoid the `grey' look." Do you know that starting with a drop initial letter increases readership by as much as 10 per cent? One more clue that Foster offers is to about restricting the opening paragraph to a dozen or so words, to sharpen reader interest.

A lingo lifeboat to help you get your message across.

BookMark@thehindu.co.in

D. Murali

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A lingo lifeboat to get your message across