Eschew Obfuscation-or-Keep it Simple

PHOTO BY: emborg

Dear me, I hate it when people get wordy.

Don't get me wrong, I love the language, but when people drop a 10 point word in their conversation, I feel like I'm being tested.

I typically react with "you're a dumb ass". Well not out loud but in my head, then I've lost all respect for the person. It's over. I suppose they really don't care if I respect them or not, but that's how it works for me.

Respect is key.

If you don't have mine just go on with yourself. It's going to take a while for you to regain it, if ever. I was at a workshop of the lower levels management, the bottom feeders, where I reside, when the facilitator kept dropping the giant words, quietly. Then the custodian supervisor who is a bit long in the tooth, who couldn't really hear the the man and his big old words would say, "Excuse me" the man inserted a simpler, more humble word in it's place. This happened over and over again. I was insulted. I wrote a bad evaluation. Oh, the scandal. I'm writing about it now. It impacted me.

Then there's a flip side to this. Jeni, my dearest friend, and I play the 10 point word game where we drop a big word then the other person finds a simpler version and tosses that in for clarity.

Always gratifying, I mean, fun.

If you are self promoting when you should be promoting someone else, teaching, or lifting him up, stop it. They are disengaged and no one thinks you're awesome.