Like if you want using the keys below; only I can see who you are.
This is a riff on an ancient Jerry Randecker & Chris Sitter article in Construction Equipment Magazine
There was a time, ages ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, dial telephones were common (even if they didn’t work for a while), and we communicated with letters and the occasional phone call long before SMS/texting on those clunky cell phones was popular or even possible. Then came this Internet thing, and AOL began passing out those CDs (remember those?) when most of us still had dial-up modems offering a free month of (kind of) Internet access and our very own e-mail address!
Seems like centuries ago…Before then we had time to think before we sealed up our deathless prose, to dial the phone with some plan to say Something Important (because calls cost money, especially long-distance). Today, with so many texts, e-mails and other electronic messages from friends, neighbors, family, suppliers, customers and co-workers demanding our attention, it's really tempting to just finish the damn thing and push Send!
Pay attention, Secretary Hegseth…
But sometimes getting it done and firing off that electronic communication in haste can come back to bite us. Misunderstandings can occur, especially in our business correspondence. Customers and clients could perceive a (probably unwarranted, but…) lack of professionalism in the way we manufacture our goods or deliver our services, and our message can be far less effective than if we took just a little extra time to give that message a good once-over before sending it.
The word is Selah.
It’s a 3,000-year-old word that translates from ancient Hebrew to “stop and listen,” or “pause and think about it.” During your Selah moment, reread the message and ask yourself:
Did I create this communication with the proper attitude? Did I set the right tone throughout the document? Was I positive enough when trying to encourage someone, and firm enough to deliver that tough message I was trying to send?
Did I spell the name(s) correctly in the initial greeting, and am I sure I got their title(s) correct? (Don’t go down the misgendering rabbit hole). People really do care if you spell their name wrong, even if they say nothing about it later. If you're not 100 percent sure, confirm it on the website, or find their business card, or use some other means.
Did I CC/BCC everyone I should have…or anyone I shouldn’t have? Are there some people I was about to copy who really don't need to see this communication? Did the application automatically fill in someone else with a similar name or address who isn't supposed to get this at all?
Did I omit portions of a trail that should be in this communication?
Proper grammar, spelling and usage may not sell more products or services, but poor grammar, spelling and usage might sell a lot less.
John D. Beatty
A 2005 study in the UK revealed tens of billions in lost sales because of poor spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Thirty percent of those polled said they wouldn't buy any product or service from businesses that used poor spelling or grammar. Customers easily assume that a communicator using sloppy spelling and grammar has a similar lack of attention to excellence and detail in the rest of the way they do business.
Texting “courtesy” be damned: if you use emojis and no punctuation, you’re just lazy.
Electronic communications must be standalone and free from misinterpretation of your cute hieroglyphs. They are not like phone communications, where you can adjust your message because of what you hear, like a moment of silence, or laughter or anger. Your message—single or string—must make its own point all by itself (with zero additional input from you) to everyone you are copying, from the greeting all the way to your signature.
Think of electronic messages as bullets: once sent, you can’t (mostly) call ‘em back or re-aim them.
Selah before you Send to avert often irreversible embarrassment. For really touchy communications, you’re better off just picking up the phone (as horrifying for you Millennials that it may be). While trying to get that next important message out, pause…think…rethink. Reread your message as if you were the recipient, and ensure you address it to the correct people; choose your words carefully.
Pay attention, Secretary Hegseth…
This Redhead: The Dialogues
Writing a novel takes a great deal of selah. Writing a novel that’s just two people talking for 300-plus pages with no stage direction whatsoever took a great deal more than I thought it would.
And Finally...
On 19 July:
1894: Percy Spencer is born in Howland, Maine. A self-taught engineer in the traditions of Edison and de Forrest, Spencer worked on radar during WWII, but is best known as the inventor of the microwave oven.
1944: The battle for the town of St. Lo in Normandy ended with a German withdrawal. This key crossroads enabled the breakout of US forces from the eastern end of their beachhead in France. Within three weeks, US long-range artillery could shell Germany.
And today is STICK OUT YOUR TONGUE DAY, probably not commemorating the nomination of Donald Trump for president at the Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on this day in 2016…but he could have done it in November…