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An impassioned plea to the
     WORD POLICE
             Stop the ‘but’ hunts,
                let people ‘try’
            and right your ‘wrongs’


  Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
Sometimes overzealous communication
  instructors demonize the word ‘but’




    Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
That gets their peeps
      going on a “but” hunt


                                                      Well, I don’t like your ‘but’
                                                                 either.




Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
Communication would be easier if word
  choices were that simple, BUT…




     Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
We need to be discerning
about our how we use our “buts” AND…




    Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
“Try” is another term that the
word police stalk and condemn




  Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
“Try” and “but” aren’t inherently
 wrong. And neither is “wrong”

            There may be a hundred
            ways to get there, but
            turning into oncoming
            traffic isn’t one of them.

            You made a wrong turn.
            Let’s try again.




   Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
A message to the word police.




   Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
So don’t just enforce word rules.
     Practice word savvy.




   Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.

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Empassioned plea to the word police

  • 1. An impassioned plea to the WORD POLICE Stop the ‘but’ hunts, let people ‘try’ and right your ‘wrongs’ Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
  • 2. Sometimes overzealous communication instructors demonize the word ‘but’ Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
  • 3. That gets their peeps going on a “but” hunt Well, I don’t like your ‘but’ either. Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
  • 4. Communication would be easier if word choices were that simple, BUT… Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
  • 5. We need to be discerning about our how we use our “buts” AND… Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
  • 6. “Try” is another term that the word police stalk and condemn Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
  • 7. “Try” and “but” aren’t inherently wrong. And neither is “wrong” There may be a hundred ways to get there, but turning into oncoming traffic isn’t one of them. You made a wrong turn. Let’s try again. Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
  • 8. A message to the word police. Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.
  • 9. So don’t just enforce word rules. Practice word savvy. Meryl Runion Rose, Chief Iteration Officer, SpeakStrong Please share freely with credit.