Things-to-remember for effective communication (Part 1)

The following points are relevant to all media but they are most important to written communication.

1. Use simple words. It is better to use “tell” or “inform” instead of “acquaint.”

Pompous (avoid these)	Simple (use these)
Demonstrate	show
Subsequent to	after
Previous/ prior to	before
To the fullest possible extent	fully

Mark Twain had a point when he said, “I never write ‘metropolis’ when I can get the same price for ‘city.’

2. Use concrete expressions. Concrete expressions create visual images that are easy to register. So instead of vague, generalised statements, give definite facts.

Vague and general	Concrete and effective
Goods are soon being despatched.	Goods will be despatched on 2nd July.
Your savings earn a high rate of interest.	Your savings earn 10% interest compounded half-yearly.
This piece of jewellery is inexpensive.	These beautiful earrings cost only Rs.650.
You can own this refrigerator by paying Rs. 1500 cash down and easy instalments later.	You can own this refrigerator by paying Rs. 1500 cash down and fifteen monthly instalments of Rs. 500 each.

You should avoid words like high, low, big, small, many, a few, soon, easy, large, short, quick, slow, several, frequent, most, least and other such words. These may be considered opinion or contextual words, for ‘many’ and ‘a few’ are a matter of opinion or context. Ten students absent in a class of thirty are ‘many.’ Ten members absent in a group of five hundred are ‘a few.’

3. Prefer active constructions for they are easier to understand. If you deliberately want to create an impersonal style, you ma be justified in using passive constructions. But, in ordinary circumstances, it is better to use active constructions.

Passive (awkward)	Active (elegant)
Your efforts are appreciated by all of us.	All of us appreciate your efforts.
Your report will be discussed by a committee.	A committee will discuss your report.
It is thought that these prices are on the higher side.	We think these prices to be on the higher side.

If you compare the two constructions, you will discover that active verbs are more specific, personal and emphatic.

Correct Use of Articles

The articles “a” or “an” and “the” are placed before a noun.
The article “a” or “an” is used in its original sense meaning “one.” If it means “one”, why can’t I just use the word “one”? Why bother using articles?

Consider the following sentences.
1. I have one apple with me.
2. One car was stolen from the parking lot last night.
3. One mother loves her child very much.

Does the first sentence sound good? Isn’t it a little awkward? Try rephrasing the sentence as “I have an apple with me” (“an” is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound; e.g., an inkpot, an onion, an MBA graduate.) Surely, the rephrased sentence sounds good.

Look at the second sentence. It is known for a fact that a parking lot has, more often than not, many cars. Of those many cars, one car (that is, some car) was stolen; this is what the sentence needs to convey. Note that we are not talking about any particular car, but about some car in a vague sense. Therefore, the sentence should read as “A car was stolen from the parking lot last night.”

You must have figured out what is wrong with the last sentence. In this sentence, the word “mother” is used to mean “any mother”, that is to say, “mother” is representative of the whole class of mothers. Therefore, the sentence should read as “A mother loves her child very much.”

See how the use of an article gives a whole new meaning to a sentence.
The article “the” is used to talk about a particular person or thing, or one already talked about. For example,
“The car you are looking for was stolen last night.” (Which car? The one you are looking for.)
“I saw the boys playing in the ground.” (Which boys? The ones already talked about. Which ground? The one in the neighbourhood/town.)
In conclusion, let me give you another example for the use of articles “a” or “an” and “the.”
“I was walking down the road when a biker drove past me. A few minutes later, I saw that the biker had been in an accident. The accident occurred when the biker tried to overtake a car.”

A few rules to note when writing or speaking English

1. The words each and every are used when referring to individual elements of a set and are always followed by a singular noun (e.g., Each/every car was tested).
2. The adjective few is always followed by a plural noun (e.g., Few people understand the difference).
3. Adjectives always remain singular, even when followed by a plural noun, e.g., antibiotic (not antibiotics) substances.
4. Nouns that end with -is are usually pluralized by replacing -is with -es. For example, the plural of thesis is theses.
5. For nouns ending with –s, –sh, -ch, -o, or –x, plurals are formed by adding –es to the singular. For example, dress – dresses, mango – mangoes, brush – brushes, match – matches, box – boxes. However, the plural of piano is pianos, not pianoes.
6. For nouns ending with –y, preceded by a consonant, plurals are formed by changing –y to –ies. For example, body – bodies, lady – ladies, city – cities.
7. For nouns ending with –f or –fe, plurals are formed by changing –f or –fe to –ves. For example, wife – wives, leaf – leaves, loaf – loaves, knife – knives. However, the plural of chief is chiefs, not chieves.