Re: Qualifications for an off shore writer?

[Bill Swallow <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com>]

> I've discovered that a lot of Americans feel the same way. For awhile, I
> was sending out documents for tech review as email attachments, and
> including three voting buttons on the emails -- "Approve as is,"
> "Approve with changes," and "Reject." (I was starting with one of the
> options provided in Outlook, "Approve; Reject," and embellishing it. One
> of my very-American coworkers complained that "Reject" seemed overly
> harsh, and would make people reluctant to choose that option. So, I
> changed it to "Follow-up review needed."
>
> And I've run into many other Americans who'll tap dance all around the
> universe before they'll simply tell you they aren't willing to do
> something you want them to do (although past a point, I think we're
> talking more about passive-aggressiveness than politeness).
>
> While we're about it, I always try to be as gentle as possible when
> giving negative criticism.

I'm the opposite. I feel our language has become too soft, so much
that it causes confusion. Your example of "Reject" is a good one.
There's nothing wrong with the option to reject something. "Follow-up
review needed" might indicate a subsequent action, but of course
"reject" requires a re-write that would then need to go to review
until approved. Carlin's "shellshock" bit speaks to this well.
http://namtab29.blogspot.com/2008/06/george-carlin-shell-shock.html

-- 
Bill Swallow
"techcommdood"

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/techcommdood
Twitter: @techcommdood
Blog: http://techcommdood.com
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