[Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen)writing goingdwnhll

[ljkapner at cox.net (Leonard J Kapner)]

And the analogue from the venture capital world: "Don't give us a business
plan, give us your elevator speech!" Large fortunes have been turned into
small fortunes with this mindset... ;-)

Len

-- 

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of B. D.
Colen
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2004 9:28 AM
To: 'Leica Users Group'
Subject: RE: [Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen)writing
goingdwnhll

That's a problem I run into - 'don't give us long sentences - give us
bullet points.' :-)

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Dan C
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2004 11:17 AM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: RE: [Leica] RE: While it is happening (B. D. Colen)writing
goingdwnhll


In business school, and in the real world of business, my reports were
always criticized for being too complex.  I was told to make my
sentences
shorter.   There was even a software program that could analyze a report
and declare what grade level of education was required to fully
understand it, the presumption being that the score shouldn't be too
high.

-dan c.



At 09:49 AM 24-06-04 -0400, B. D. Colen wrote:
>I can't disagree with the premise that the skills we value change - but
>- by any measure I've seen, our society is scientifically illiterate 
>when compared to others in which there is universal schooling. And I'm 
>not bemoaning the decline of writing skills from the perspective of a 
>journalist, but rather from that of a citizen who believes that if we 
>cannot communicate clearly, we are ultimately doomed as a society. The 
>brilliant scientist who cannot convey his brilliance to others is far 
>less likely to find sufficient funding for his work than the scientist 
>who can communicate clearly - in writing and verbally.
>
>I tell the students in my undergrad science news writing class that I 
>know full well very few of them will ever write a news story after 
>leaving the class, and the few who do - because they work on the school

>paper - won't after graduating because they'll be headed for careers in

>the sciences. However, the skills they acquire in reducing a scientific

>journal report to a 350 word news story will help them in whatever they

>do in the future.
>
>B. D.

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