Is it too much to expect my colleagues to know the meaning of “succinct” and be able to pronounce it when I use it in a report at a meeting?
I don’t believe so. What frustrates me more is their failure to ask for clarification when they don’t understand something that is clearly stated. Personally, I always make it a point to inquire about unfamiliar words because that’s how you expand your vocabulary. Why are people so comfortable remaining uninformed?
Years ago, at my workplace, we installed our very first computer (you might remember those machines that emitted a loud screech as the printer mechanism moved across the perforated paper, which was fitted with little black bumps on either side? The pages would fold over each other like an accordion, a fact demonstrated by many who returned from a boozy lunch, and it was placed on a table with a hole in it and a box underneath to catch the printed pages.)
A senior manager entered and, with a patronizing tone (I was just a naïve teenager at the time), asked me what I thought of it. I simply replied, “It brings out the Luddite in me.” To my surprise, he responded as if astonished by my knowledge, “Where did you learn about the Luddites, Jim? I thought you were educated in Ravensthorpe.”
Back then, I was still mastering the art of being icy and sarcastic, so I retorted with as much disdain as I could muster, “They’re called libraries, and they allow us less fortunate individuals to read those papery things filled with words for free, provided we’ve cleaned ourselves up.”
I’m not sure why this memory resurfaced, but it did. Please understand that the story above is entirely based on true events, barring the names I’ve omitted, the elements I’ve left out to enhance the narrative flow, and any humorous exaggeration or creations that tend to increase as time distances the recollection from the actual incident.
by Jim Aborwhear
