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Articles by Bob Stowers
Getting better at remembering names will only help your career | Expert column Original
Most of us have read “Animal Farm” and “1984” by George Orwell or, at least, have heard of him. However, did you know that Orwell is not his real name? I didn’t know that, and I was an English major in college. His real name was Eric Arthur Blair. Orwell, or rather Blair, died in 1950. By the way, he took the name of Orwell because the River Orwell was one of his favorite places to visit in England. That got me thinking about the difficulty and significance of remembering names.
What is plagiarism? Why is it a problem? | Expert column Original
If you’ve been sleeping under a rock, you may have missed the issues alleging plagiarism by ex-Harvard President Claudine Gay. Rarely has the plagiarism topic been “front and center” when dealing with public authorities and celebrities. However, with Dr. Gay, the plagiarism topic has risen to the forefront of discussion. In the academic world, plagiarism is serious business. Students have been dismissed from colleges and universities due to plagiarism issues.
What’s the difference between ‘which’ and ‘that’? | Expert column Original
Once in a while, the English teacher in me rears its ugly head. Some of the things that get my attention may not rival scientists’ efforts to cure cancer. Nevertheless, cleaning up poor English usage has its benefits. My opinion is that it is very necessary if we want people to successfully understand what we are attempting to communicate. A popular sandwich chain in Hampton Roads is Which Wich.
Pronouns matter and workplaces should pay attention | Expert column
First of all, don’t shoot the messenger. I, of course, am serving as the messenger of a topic that some totally embrace and some totally want to ignore. That topic is the use of pronouns, or rather the misuse of pronouns for some in business communication. Pronouns, if you remember your grammar lessons, are words that refer to a person without using that person’s name. Pronouns that are familiar include: I, you, we, he, she, us, they and them.
Business communication may evolve with artificial intelligence | Expert column
The world of artificial intelligence has invaded the realm of business communication, and many see it as a threat to authentic individual business writing. The academic world is now struggling as to how to handle a dilemma created by ChatGPT because of the chatbot’s sophistication and genuine appearance. AI is not a new concept, but ChatGPT has nearly perfected the ability to conceptualize human thought and apply it to business communication.
Words can mean different things to different people | Expert column
Language is a definitely a funny thing. Words or expressions that we consider to be universal are simply not. This has direct implications for international business. Growing up in Massachusetts and then living in different areas of the United States have taught me that. It gets even worse when we travel internationally. When I was a youngster, I went to the bubbler at school to get a drink of water. We wore sneakers and not tennis shoes.
My dog taught me everything about body language | Expert column
Experts contend that most communication is done nonverbally — maybe as high as 90%. How high is irrelevant. The point is that most people don’t give much attention to what is very crucial in communicating. I thought about this when I was home with my dog. I watched him intently that day and learned a lot about the role of body language in communication. Without one word spoken, I saw what he wanted from me and what he wanted me to do. His relentless stare at me was very effective.
The still small voice guides your business writing | Expert column
All of us have heard it. It comes in many forms, including nagging guilt, an ever-present conscience, feelings of uncertainty, troublesome nervousness, too much impatience and a lack of confidence. However it comes to us, it affects our behavior and, too often, it affects our ideas and actions that may have been very productive efforts. It is the still small voice that makes something known to us that we shouldn’t proceed in whatever we may be doing or thinking about.
Don’t get over reliant on Spell Check | Expert column
As business writers, most of us (including me) use the handy-dandy writing features provided in Microsoft Word. If I believe that I have repeated words, I will access the thesaurus feature to add variety to my writing. When I write articles either professionally for Inside Business or for academic publications, I will check the number of words that I have written using the Word Count feature. It sure beats having to count 500 or more words.
Don’t close the door to job opportunities | Expert column
I have heard it said that job rejections come by a letter and a job offer will come via a telephone call. This may be true in the past, but I am sure that job offers — and rejections — now come through a variety of ways including text messages, emails, social media, and by voice. I guess that it doesn’t matter how the rejection message comes to us. It is still a rejection.
The dangers of multitasking during Zoom meetings | Expert column
We’ve all done it. Me, too. During an especially nonproductive Zoom meeting, we may think to ourselves: “This is a waste of time.” Your mind starts to wander. You start thinking about the work that is due. You pull out your cellphone and keep it out of camera range to check for texts or emails. “I can multitask,” you think to yourself.
The language of the 2020 pandemic | Expert column
The recent semi-imposed isolation caused by the coronavirus has given me time to think and to reflect on how language shapes our world. The recent crisis also has introduced words and expressions never heard or spoken before. Some of the words and phrases have been used before — just not with the current meaning or sense of urgency. The recent coronavirus pandemic has created the need to communicate unfamiliar meaning or urgency that did not exist before public health was put at risk by the virus.
Apostrophes may have an inferiority complex | Expert column
Business writers need to pay attention to seemingly unimportant details where writing is concerned. One of these small details is the use of the common apostrophe. Apostrophes are perhaps the least appreciated of all punctuation marks in English. Comparable to officials in sports, few receivers of written messages notice apostrophes when used the right way. However, their writing importance is magnified when they are used incorrectly. Like Rodney Dangerfield, apostrophes get little respect.
To emoji or not emoji: That is a good question | Expert column
I suspect there are two types of people in the world: those who use emojis or emoticons and those who do not. Those who do use them are looking for ways to express the correct tone when writing a text or email message. In writing, typically, it is difficult to express sarcasm or humor without the receiver of the message not knowing if you are being serious or, perhaps instead, are being flippant or rude. Words are difficult when it comes to expressing emotion.
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