http://www.baptism.co.nz

Good and glorious

I believe it was George Mikes who suggested that it was quite possible to live in England for twenty years before discovering that there were any other adjectives than "nice" and "good".

People who are flamboyant in other ways often find that they cannot express themselves effectively when it comes to adjectives. The language they use can drift towards flat and lifeless, with little to inspire the imaginative or thoughtful raeder or listener. There is so much more to say about (for example) a speech than telling a speaker that it was good.

A speech might be inspiring, interesting, inspirational, irritating, incomprehensible, illegal...and that's just "i"

Don't tell somebody that they have behaved in a way that is "nice" when you could have thanked them for being thoughtful, caring, kind, generous, selfless or any number of other words.

So there we have it - short this month, late too, so here's something else to consider.


The rule of three

In our society, we have stories such as "The three little pigs", "The three billy-goats Gruff", "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and famous characters such as the three wise monkeys, the three kings and the three stooges.

These are examples of what I claim to be the rule of three: fine speaking and writing succeed when people have three of...just about anything.

If you are talking about the wild, restless ocean, it's a fairly bland way to talk about it, while the wild, restless, stormy, turbulent ocean is probably overdone. What you need is the wild, restless, turbulent ocean if you want to wow them.

You can also be effective by giving three examples - two is too few - four is too many - three is just right.

Your third example is the key one - the third pig was different, so was the third goat, so was the third bear.

I ferevently believe that the "rule of three" can add impact to any presentation and invite you to try it in your next presentation.


Next
Previous
Back to Grammarian's Page
Back to Home Page