Ever seen TL;DR on an article or in a comment and wondered what it means?
I’m generally opposed to acronyms and abbreviations, but this made me laugh when I looked it up. It means too long, didn’t read.
It’s what I wanted to say to my dad last week when he emailed me about some boxes of books he needs help moving. I had asked him for:
- the dimensions of the boxes
- where to pick them up
- and where to drop them off.
It should be pretty straightforward, right?
He sent me a v e r y lengthy email with photos of the boxes attached; it included pictures of boxes not part of the move. Following is a small section of his email.
Where are they to be picked up?
They are in our storage unit at xxx which is at [address]. I will meet you there and let you in. This involves you going up the driveway on the eastern side of the building. I will then key in the code to open the large roller door.
Our storage unit is #xxx which is located one floor above where you park when you are inside. You won’t need to use your own trolley because there will be a large trolley provided. There is a heavy duty goods lift available to bring the tubs down on the trolley.
After the tubs are loaded on your vehicle, I will key in the code to let you drive out at the back.
Most first drafts are too long. We all tend to overwrite. It’s why taking time to edit our words is so important.
I spent too much time weeding out unhelpful words in dad’s email, and it made me just a tad grumpy.
Here’s how I would have written that passage:
Pick up from xxx at [address]. I’ll meet you there and let you in. There is a trolley onsite, so you won’t need yours at this end.
I’ve held back my grumpy from dad, and he doesn’t read my blog, so he’s unlikely to see this post. Please don’t tell him!
#GetItWrite #Communication #Writing