Page 48 - Today’s Business Communication; A How-to Guide for the Modern Professional

WhY MUST I PUT MY AUDIENCE FIRST? 37

Boxer Chrysler
Four Beagle
Cheesesteak honda
BMW Eight
Twelve volvo
hot dog Poodle
Lasagna Twenty
Subaru French fries
Cookie Weimaraner
Schnauzer Seventeen

Figure 3.6 Twenty pieces of information

Boxer hot dog Chrysler Eight
Schnauzer Lasagna honda Twelve
Weimaraner Cheesesteak Subaru Twenty
Beagle Cookie BMW Seventeen
Poodle French fries volvo Four

Figure 3.7 Twenty pieces of information organized and chunked

Now ask a second friend to review the list of words in Figure 3.7
contains the same 20 words found in Figure 3.6. Again, give the friend
30 seconds to review the list. Take the list away at the end of 30 seconds.
Then, ask the friend an engaging question about another topic. After a
very brief discussion, ask the second friend to tell you all of the words that
he or she remembers.
Who performed better, the first or the second friend? We’ll put our
money on the second friend. When your friends see the two lists, the
reason for the performance differential should be immediately obvious.
Consider your audience by organizing and chunking information appro-
priately.

Avoiding Common Grammar and Writing Blunders

We have seen thousands of grammar and writing blunders. Although,
as we will discuss in Chapter 4, nobody expects you to be perfect, you
also don’t want to have the reputation as the person who makes lots of
mistakes. We believe, in fact, that some mistakes do more damage to your
credibility than others. Below, we will provide you with a description of
those errors. Before we do so, however, your best bet to avoid common