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Churchill on Clear Language

Guest post by: The Osborne Group

Article Overview: Winston Churchill, universally acknowledged as a champion of motivational speech, was an early proponent of Clear Language.

Churchill on Clear Language

Winston Churchill, universally acknowledged as a champion of motivational speech, was an early proponent of Clear Language. The following anecdote from “The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill” compiled by Dominique Enright makes the point.

When an American general asked Churchill to look over the draft of an address he had written it was returned with the comment “Too many passives and too many zeds.” The general asked what he meant and was told: “Too many Latinate polysyllabics like “systematize”, “prioritize” and “finalize”. And then the passives. What if I had said, instead of “We shall fight on the beaches”, “Hostilities will be engaged with our adversary on the coastal perimeter”?

The Osborne Group Principals offer Clear Language training that brings the battle against passives and zeds right to your office.

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Article Tags: ceo, clear language, contract executive, english, language training, oborne group, winston churchill



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Re: Does Your Blog Reach Business People? - It's interesting what names people choose to keep... If I'd been named "Winton" Churchill I'd've changed it! But perhaps he gets a lot of publicity because of the similalarity of names. Similar to John Edwards of that Ghost Whisperer show... I confess I always got him confused with the politician!
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