June 2006

Welcome to the June issue of Word Power, and hello to nearly a hundred new subscribers.

We've been designing and running courses on effective business writing for many years. So the enthusiastic responses to our both own material (see earlier versions of Word Power for our 'Grammar Slammer' series of articles) and to publications such as Lynne Truss' 'Eats Shoots and Leaves' come as no surprise to us. As a culture, we're obsessed with communication and relationships - and with the mechanisms that enable us to communicate and relate. Language is just one part of this, but what makes it such a fascinating area of study is its constant state of flux. It is hard not to become involved in the endless struggle between those still reluctant to split an infinitive and others who want to apostrophise every plural.

So we looked forward to BBC4's new panel quiz 'Never Mind The Full Stops' with eager anticipation. However, our initial reaction (and that of many critics) was that the show was so bad that it would either be pulled after the first episode or attain cult status via the same route as Ed Wood's movies. But, no doubt galvanised by the threat of premature closure, the programme's producers must have cracked the whip because subsequent episodes have been much improved. The show now presents a fascinating collection of regional idiosyncrasies, linguistic challenges and endless examples of the richness and sheer illogicality of the English language.

In a hectic start to our year - a by-product of which has been the increasingly erratic production schedule for Word Power - the demand for face-to-face training events seems stronger than ever. Jane's rigorous travel schedules have, however, included highlights such as visiting the burgeoning city of Belfast (to give a speed reading presentation at the annual conference of the Association of University Administrators) and running effective writing courses on the intriguingly different Isle of Wight (for a fast-growing natural beauty care company). In July, she be will working with new associates, Lebanon-based Leading Minds, to deliver speed reading and Mind Mapping courses in Beirut.

Back at the desktop, we've been designing training packages for government departments in England and Scotland, producing magazines, catalogues & newsletters, and typesetting technical manuals and tourist brochures in a challenging range of languages and alphabets.

By the way, we are, as always, grateful to those of you who have let us know how much you enjoy Word Power.

• 'Thanks for the latest edition it really is a good read - our course administrator loves the grammar section' (Vanessa Jones - Wound Healing Research Unit, Cardiff University)
• 'Thanks Nick, I enjoyed that' (Pat Grey - Family Planning Association)

In this issue:

• Coaching and mentoring: background and benefits
• Coaching and Mentoring for Success
• Jane Smith's Training Journal review of 'The Vocal Skills Pocketbook' by Richard Payne
• Questions on business writing (Word Smart returns in the next issue)
• Word Smiths' publications.

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Coaching and mentoring: background and benefits

All the research tells us that coaching and mentoring are two of the most effective tools for changing behaviour and improving performance. In the workplace, people often need to learn new skills at different times, depending on their individual job. So having a coach or mentor available means that they can learn what they need when they need it and not wait for formal training.

People working with a coach or mentor benefit in many ways. They get:

• A safe place to offload worries and problems
• Opportunities to refine the skills they already have and learn new skills
• Insights into themselves and other people
• A source of unbiased, confidential support
• Fresh perspectives on issues and problems
• Advice, suggestions and options.

Coaching and mentoring relationships are usually one-to-one, targeting the needs of the individual. Because the experience is relevant and immediate, the learning is deep and permanent. For all these reasons and many more, huge numbers of organisations around the world are currently introducing coaching/mentoring schemes or broadening the scope of existing ones.

The overall aim of good coaching and mentoring is to take someone beyond the boundaries of what they ever believed was possible - often beyond the limitations of the supporter's own skills and knowledge. In seeking to unlock a person's potential to maximise their own performance, today's coaches and mentors needs to deploy a wide variety of skills. This involves viewing their own continuing self-development as a constant high priority.

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Coaching and Mentoring for Success

Although most of us are convinced of the importance and benefits of coaching and mentoring, several questions still remain to be answered. What do coaches and mentors actually do? How can we enable them to gain the skills they need to carry out these demanding roles? How can the coach/mentor and the learner create a productive relationship? And how can they make sure that learners actually achieve their goals?

All these questions and more are answered in Coaching and Mentoring for Success.

This new Word Smiths publication incorporates an audio book, a 32 page booklet and a number of online resources. Authors Ann Holloway & Jane Smith have designed the package to be particularly useful for people who are working towards the ENTO National Occupational Standards for Learning and Development. However, the material will also be relevant for any workplace coach or mentor - whether or not they are going for a certificate.

For this addition to the Word Smith's catalogue, we commissioned music from Abergavenny-based composer and guitarist Dylan Fowler. You can read about his work here. Dylan is touring in Bulgaria at the moment, but we will be interviewing him as soon as he gets back for the next Word Power.

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Other Word Smiths publications

Unlock the secrets of successful reading

Word Smiths' Speed Reading for Success continues to fly off the shelf and is currently the best selling Speed Reading title on Amazon UK.

"All of the tracks are short and to the point, easy to understand and provide practical and invaluable information, making this a product you don’t want to be without."

Kellie Fowler, Mind Tools website

"A little bit of genius that will help you learn speed reading with ease ... an excellent idea and I wish we had thought of it first."

New Archaeology (USA)

"I would recommend this resource to anyone who needs to get through lots of material quickly and efficiently."

Training Journal (UK)

Speed Reading for Success is fantastic value: order it from Amazon for only £10.39.

Decision Making for Success

This e-book's obviously filling a need, because it's proving a very popular download. It's currently available free.

Just click here.

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Your questions on business writing

In the first six issues of Word Power, we looked at some of the basic points of language and punctuation that many people find difficult in their business writing. This series was well received and gave rise to a number of comments and questions. Here we answer a question from Sam Lomsall of Warwick.

"My teachers told me never to put a comma before 'and' - but one of the examples you give in the Grammar Slammer shows a comma before 'and'. How can this be right?"

The myth about not allowing commas before 'and' is a persistent one - but complete nonsense. We think it arose because people (including teachers) confuse two different types of comma: the listing comma and the joining comma.

Here is an example of the listing comma:

A big nose is the sign of a friendly, courteous, witty and brave man. (from Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand).

In this sentence 'and' is doing the work of a comma - so you wouldn't need to put in a comma as well. However, in some lists you would have to use a comma before 'and' to avoid ambiguity.

Last year several of my friends got married: Clare and Clive, Jim and Cynthia, Justin and Natasha, and Charles and Camilla.

Without the final comma there would be a lot of confusion about who had got married to whom!

The joining comma is a different thing entirely. You can use this to join two complete sentences. It is always followed by a suitable joining word like 'and', 'but', 'while' or 'yet'.

I am a sort of collector of religions, and the curious thing is that I find I can believe in them all. (George Bernard Shaw)

You can say what you like about long dresses, but they cover a multitude of shins. (Mae West)

We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, yet we haven't learned the simple act of walking the earth like brothers. (Martin Luther King)

So the answer to your question is that, contrary to popular belief, it is OK to put a comma before 'and'. If there is a danger of ambiguity, a well placed comma can help the reader to understand your message.

Please send us your questions on any aspect of business writing or using Word - and we'll do our best to answer them.

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Vocal Skills Pocketbook: by Richard Payne

Jane's review of this book appeared in the May edition of the Training Journal

How I wish that someone had popped a copy of this book into the Christmas stocking of a speaker I heard recently. We were trapped in a school hall listening to an excruciatingly inaudible keynote address at the annual prize giving. Pretty soon we were reduced to examining our fingernails or fantasising about what we'd buy if we won the roll-over jackpot.

This book focuses on a much neglected aspect of training and presentations - how to use the voice to communicate our messages with confidence and clarity. We may have carefully considered the learning outcomes of a classroom course and we may have planned content, structure and learning methods. But how often do we consider the way that we actually speak when we deliver the training? Its the Ps that are important: projection, pitch, pace and pauses.

Step forward Richard Payne, an experienced voice tutor who seems to have distilled the essence of his training into the 100 odd short pages of this pocketbook. It's clearly written, effectively structured and cleverly illustrated with cartoons, diagrams and icons. No chance of losing your way or failing to understand the point of each section or page.

Although you'll whip through this in half an hour, it will take you much longer than that to practise the skills. Thanks, Richard for understanding that putting this lot into practice can be overwhelming, and for suggesting that we concentrate on one aspect at a time.

I really like the assessment sheet at the end of the book. You can use this either to assess recordings of your own practice or to learn from the good and bad practices of others. Although the high level of technical detail that Richard provides didn't contribute a lot to what I got out of the book, pub quizzers will no doubt be keen to know all about articulators, resonators and voiced/unvoiced consonants. Another benefit is the hours of innocent merriment which your family and colleagues will enjoy when you do your pitch and projection exercises.

This is one of a series of more than 60 pocket books. For a small investment, a whole library is available for any trainer who wants to make more of an impact in presentations and courses. You can learn about everything from assertiveness to impact and presence, and how to succeed in interviews. No excuse then for not being heard. This could get addictive.

• Overall recommendation: 4 stars
• Author: Richard Payne
• Publisher: Management Pocketbooks Ltd
• ISBN: 1 903776 17 1

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