Re: Intentionality & The Writer/Reader Interface

[Steven Brown <stevenabrown -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

"It is always possible for offense to be taken whether
it was given or not."

Those of us who are married implicitly know this! If I
say to my wife, "Can put your shoes someplace more
appropriate than under the piano bench," a sincere
desire to maintain an organized household suddenly
becomes a tacit attempt to treat her like a child, and
I suddenly become the mean step-father that mistreated
her 15 years ago.

The lesson for the writer/speaker: Do the best you can
with what you have.

The lesson for the reader/listener: Assume good
intentions on the part of the writer/speaker.

What makes professional writers special is our
awareness of the ability to unintentionally offend and
our ability to carefully craft messages.

Steven Brown
Senior Technical Writer
Good-Intentioned Husband


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