Mel and Steve's Blog » Communication http://www.ldrteam.com/blog Equipping Leaders and Empowering Churches Wed, 12 May 2010 20:55:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Clarity of Communication http://www.ldrteam.com/blog/clarity-of-communication/ http://www.ldrteam.com/blog/clarity-of-communication/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:45:47 +0000 Mel http://www.ldrteam.com/blog/?p=301 Lake Superior State University in Michigan publishes a list of words each year they think should be eliminated because of overuse, mis-use or general uselessness. http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php

This year’s list includes:

  • “shovel-ready”
  • “transparent/transparency”
  • “czar”
  • “friend” as a verb
  • “teachable moment”
  • “in these economic times”
  • “stimulus”
  • “toxic assets”
  • “to big to fail”
  • “app”
  • Combination of words like “sexting”, “bromance”, and “chiaxin”
  • All versions of “tweets”, “tweetaholic”, “retweet” “twitterature” & “twittersphere”

2009’s list included:

  • Green
  • Bailout
  • Icon or iconic
  • Game changer
  • Not so much
  • It’s that time of year

2008’’s list included:

  • Perfect storm
  • Organic
  • Webinar
  • Wordsmith
  • Surge
  • Decimated
  • Under the bus

While we may not agree with their lists, we must all be aware that words change and lose their meaning over time. This is one of the reasons why we must occasionally review things we publish to see if they still have clarity or have lost impact or meaning.

It is also why we need to record and listen to ourselves periodically, to see if we are using words that no longer have meaning or clarity. Just because something is technically correct, does not mean it has clarity or impact on the listener.

]]> http://www.ldrteam.com/blog/clarity-of-communication/feed/ 0 Most Irritating Phrases http://www.ldrteam.com/blog/most-irritating-phrases/ http://www.ldrteam.com/blog/most-irritating-phrases/#comments Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:14:43 +0000 Mel http://www.ldrteam.com/blog/?p=256 The following is a re-post from the blog of Brian Dolleman who got it from of James Emery White…

Top Ten Irritating Phrases

Researchers at Oxford University have compiled the top ten most irritating phrases.

At the end of the day, such lists are fairly unique. I personally, at this moment in time, and with all due respect, absolutely agree with their list. It’s a nightmare to hear these phrases, and I know that when I have thought of using them, I shouldn’t of. Nonetheless, you hear them 24/7, even when stopping shouldn’t be rocket science.

Here they are in a less irritating form:

1. At the end of the day
2. Fairly unique
3. I personally
4. At this moment in time
5. With all due respect
6. Absolutely
7. It’s a nightmare
8. Shouldn’t of
9. 24/7
10. It’s not rocket science

Not quite making the top ten, but coming close, was the expressions “synergy,” “literally,” and “ironically.”

Revealed in the book A Damp Squid, named after the mistake of confusing a squid with a squib (which is a type of firework), author Jeremy Butterfield says “We grow tired of anything that is repeated too often – an anecdote, a joke, a mannerism – and the same seems to happen with some language.”

Agreed.

So here’s my “top five” list of irritating phrases circulating around Christianity, leaving those who post on this on www.serioustimes.com to suggest those that might round it out to ten:

5. “Must be providential.” Trotted out every time anything happens good or bad, often in ways that trivialize the true nature of God’s sovereignty and conveys a fatalism of the worst sort.

4. “I need to go where I’m fed.” The ultimate in spiritual narcissism and the deepest reflection of a consumer faith. We can throw in “I didn’t get anything out of it” (applied to worship) and “I need to be ministered to.”

3. “I’m Reformed.” Code used by those who claim the entire Reformation for themselves and their embrace of Calvinism. Nothing against Calvin, but it is a ridiculous reduction of the Reformation’s mosaic and the many streams of Protestantism that flowed from its dynamic.

2. “Postmodern.” So overused, and misused, that it’s become specious. When a single word can refer to a philosophy (such as offered by Lyotard), an era of history (meaning that which follows the modern era), and a style of ministry, then we need some more words.

1. “Emergent.” Do I even have to explain selecting this one?

Looking forward to yours…..

James Emery White

Sources

“Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases,” Charlotte Bailey, Telegraph.co.uk, November 8, 2008. Website

A Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare by Jeremy Butterfield.

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