The CatholiCity Message

Volume III, Number 3 – January 29, 1999

Dear CatholiCity Citizen,

As Monty Python used to say: And now, for something completely different. Besides the usual creative, interesting items, we've decided to give you a short list of "Rules for Better Communication" at the end of this week's message. Ready...go!

1. SURVEY SAYS
We want to thank all the Citizens who participated in our Y2K Impact Poll last week. Here are the results:

Total Responses: 310

ZERO IMPACT: 4% (13)
BUMP IN ROAD: 26% (82)
ICE STORM: 49% (153)
MELTDOWN: 20% (62)

2. 10,000 PRAYERS FOR THE POPE
Join us in praying for our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II:

http://www.catholicity.com/prayersdevotions/popeprayer.html

3. YOU'VE GOT MAIL
We enjoyed this movie starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Meg is such a cutie pie, but is showing her age, which happens to be around our age, so it's cool. It's the kind of movie you can bring your family to without being too offended.

4. ATLANTA BY 10
This is a pick from the heart, not the head, since Denver is supposed to be a better team. Hey, we have always liked hard-luck, but smooth-as-silk Chris Chandler. For all those wondering what we're talking about–it's the Superbowl. Inside scoop: the Apple Computer iMac commercial directly after the kickoff is supposed to be pretty good.

We're signing off now, but directly below are "Our Rules for Better Online Communication." Feel free to pass them on to others. If you find them compelling and reasonable, and adopt them for your own, it is our hope and prayer that you use them for the greater glory of God, and to help Jesus save souls. May God bless you and yours beyond your wildest dreams.

Yours with Mary,

Your Friends at CatholiCity

RULES FOR BETTER ONLINE COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION
We give these rules to you based on our experiences as professional communicators. Your author also taught English, grammar, and writing at the high school level in another life. These rules come in no particular order and stand on their own. Adopt them like children, and you will find that your life will never be the same. We recommend that you print these rules out and read them every day for seventeen days.

WRITING IS WORK: APPLY YOURSELF
At it's most basic level, writing is not fun. It is a form of work. It's like shoveling dirt. It is purposeful activity with a goal. So when you write, work hard. We can say with complete honestly that we have never written a word or sentence or paragraph without a purpose behind it, and without choosing the best word we could muster. This hard work "pushes" through to the reader. The reader feels it.

2. MARRY MISS MANNERS
Even while using email–including those quickies–mind your manners. Say please and thank you. Be careful to give the benefit of the doubt. Manners are a very high-end form of...love. Start your emails with "Dear NAME" and end with "In Christ" or "Sincerely" or your favorite closing and sign your whole name if there is any chance the person receiving your communication doesn't know you well. We live in a coarse and informal age, and the simple rules of etiquette set us apart as Christians. Love is in the details. Manners are the oil in the gears of communication. They will know we are Christians by our...manners.

3. TIME YOUR TIMING
Promptness counts. Unless your answer requires thought and reflection–then delaying counts. There is a slightly depressing feeling we all get when we send out email and we're never quite sure if we're going to be answered–and psychologically speaking–affirmed in our humanity. Your answer doesn't have to be long and drawn out, but you should answer quickly out of respect for the other person's dignity. The exception to this is obvious: gossipy, negative, or nasty messages are better left unanswered.

4. SIMPLICITY AND CLARITY
The key to good writing–online or realworld–is now and always will be simplicity and clarity. Clarity is the quality of making your writing understandable to the person reading it, and simplicity helps assure clarity. The best book ever written on writing clearly is Strunk and Whites' "Elements of Style." It's available in every bookstore. It's a short, sweet, beautiful little book. Buy it. Read it. Devour it. Make it your bible for writing. Mark Twain once ended a letter by saying, "I'm sorry this letter is so long. I didn't have time to write you a short one."

5. SURPRISE
Cultivate the element of surprise. We're not recommending that you shock your reader with vulgarity or bizarreness, but that you avoid writing what is expected. Instead, write what You Really Believe. Readers love discovering something new. These Rules themselves are an illustration of this principle. You were not expecting them. Now here you are, reading them. We are all surprising when we are truly ourselves, because God has made us unique. Don't hide your light under a bushel basket. Let your self come through. Note well: you risk rejection every time you reveal yourself. If you reveal Christ through your writing, bank on it.

6. IT ALL COUNTS
Spelling, grammar, punctuation, avoiding abbreviations, using paragraphs, sentences–these all "count" and add up to clear and effective communication. The Internet rewards those who are clearest and most persuasive in their communications–and the rules of grammar and spelling and punctuation all combine to make written communication "easier" on the reader. Again, following the rules is a form of "loving" your reader. You are fooling yourself if you think you can ignore spelling and capitalization rules. You are less effective. We are not a big fans of "emoticons," those smiley faces like this

:-)

We don't think they are manly. We suppose they are with us to stay, because they seem so popular. If you have to use them, use them sparingly. Or, never.

7. FORM A HABIT. WRITERS WRITE.
No one starts out as an expert. The greatest professional athletes are the ones who practice and perfect their skills. By applying your whole self, using the rules of grammar, writing with surprise and verve–all these things take time and practice. Start now. In a matter of weeks, months, and years, your skills will develop. Email gives us a chance to practice and hone our skills. We're not all professional writers, but as Christians, we have a responsibility to develop good writing habits because what we write...

CAN CHANGE LIVES AND CHANGE THE DESTINIES OF SOULS

8. STOP WATCHING TELEVISION
Someone once called the TV the "Satan Box." Now please understand, we grew up watching television. Back before cable. Back when there were five channels. We love it–the way a drug addict loves his drug. Most of our generation can hum every theme song to every tv show up until the 1980s, when we went to college and stopped watching tv 6 hours a day. Even so, we would rather read than watch television. The best families we know are those that watch the least television. The best writing families we know are the families that read. These reading families don't watch television.

The best way to build your vocabulary, by the way, is not to study lists of words. The best way is to read. Read, read, read, read, read. No matter how poor you are, never begrudge money for books and magazines. The public library is free to use.

9. DON'T SEND EMAIL WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY. Just don't do it. You'll regret it. Complain to your wife or sister or friend instead. Offer it up. Leave the house. Go for a drive. Slurp down a whole pint of Haagen Daas. Better yet–plop yourself down before the Blessed Sacrament and shut up. Don't hit that SEND button. Let time go by.

wee could rite another 9 rules, but these is enough for now us hope these helps ya be more effective kommunikatorz.