写作方法2010boston.com编辑精选
沟通失败：在数字时代，写不清楚代价高昂
Failure to communicate: Inability to write clearly is costly in the digital age
导读
这篇文章讨论数字时代「写不清楚」要付出多大代价。HN 评论补充了两个关键视角：文字细节是别人评估你专业度的替代信号；而真正的沟通能力在于把想法组织成别人能跟上、能指出分歧的逻辑结构，远不只是语法正确。写作者值得一读，因为它提醒你分清「不出错」和「讲清楚」。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
小处的细节是信号：错字、标点、时态会让读者推断你在大事上也不认真，在求职信、提案这类对方只能凭文字判断你的场合尤其致命。
- 02
把「写得正确」和「写得清楚」分开：语法正确只是底线，真正难的是把想法组织成可跟随的论证，并具体到别人能指出在哪一点上不同意你。
- 03
在随意场合滥用「u」代「you」这类聊天缩写，久而久之会成为默认习惯，让人把规范写作当成苦差事，要有意识地区分场合。
- 04
写作的「可接受标准」会随读者群体变化（比如短信一代进入管理层），但清晰始终要针对具体读者来经营。
HN 评论精选
文字细节是别人判断你专业态度的替代指标，正式文书尤其如此。
一位导师教给我：在小事上注重细节，往往说明在大事上也会注重细节。其实没人在乎你拼错一个词、用错时态或犯点语法错误，但有时这是别人判断你是否注重细节的唯一依据。我见过供应商因为写作马虎，导致数百万美元的采购提案被拒，理由总是同一句：「他写东西都这么马虎，做我的生意会有多马虎？」那位替我们赚了9000万美元的部门经理在邮件里拼错一个词，没人会眨眼——他肯定是赶时间；但求职信里有错误，就真会让人犯嘀咕。
edw519查看英文原文
A lesson I once learned from a mentor: attention to detail in the little things often demonstrates attention to detail in the big things. No one really cares if you misspell a word, use the wrong tense, or make some other grammatical error. But sometimes, that's all they've got to go on to assess your attention to detail. I've seen vendors proposing multi-million dollar purchases rejected because of carelessness in their writing. And the explanation was always the same, "If he's that careless with his writing, how careless will he be with my business?" When the division manager who has made us $90 million misspells a word in an email, no one bats an eyelash; he must have been in a hurry. But when a cover letter has errors, it really makes people wonder.
沟通能力的核心是逻辑结构而非语法正确，而学校写作训练常缺反馈。
有没有人跟我一样困惑：文章标题谈「沟通失败」，正文却在讲拼写、语法这类基础问题？在我看来，把一件事讲清楚是比「语法正确」（以及遵守本地风格指南）深得多的技能：它要求你把想法组织成他人能跟随的逻辑论证，并且足够具体，让别人能指出他们在哪一点上与你不一致。Graham、Spolsky 那类人做得极好，但高中和大学里学到这一点的恐怕远远不够；而批改作业的老师和助教也不可能做到——他们要花15分钟看一篇10页的文章（既然没时间给足反馈，为什么还要让人写10页？）。
sqrt17查看英文原文
Is anyone else baffled by how the article title talks about "failure to communicate" and then goes on to talk about basic things such as spelling and grammar? In my opinion, communicating something is a far deeper skill than just writing correct grammar (and following your local style guide regarding other conventions). It's about structuring your thoughts into a logical arguments that others can follow, and that is specific enough that people can find out on which points they disagree with you if they do. Most from the Graham/Spolsky/whoever crowd can do this awesomely well, but in all likelihood, not many enough people learn this in high school or college. And it's something that overworked school teachers or TAs cannot ever hope to address if they are to spend 15min. with a 10-page essay. (Why are they making anyone write a 10-page essay if there's no time to provide adequate feedback?)
随意表达会固化成习惯，写作规范需要刻意维持。
我一直避免当「语法警察」，但看到偷懒的写作还是会不舒服，尤其是熟人写的。家人常常无视明显的语法规则而毫不在意。我完全清楚自己也不是语法典范，但被纠正时我会学。问题是很多人觉得这无所谓：你语法差、写得差也没关系，因为周围人都这样，你就看不出问题。问题通常都很简单：大小写、标点、时态、拼写。我知道会打字误，有时人就是不懂，这没关系。最大的问题是「u」代替「you」这类聊天用语的滥用——人们在随意场合用，久而久之成了习惯，反而把规范写作当成苦差事。
jasonlotito查看英文原文
I've always avoided being the grammar Nazi, but it still bugs me to see lazy writing, especially from people I know. Far too often, family members ignore glaring rules of grammar without a care in the world. I fully realize I'm not a paragon of English grammar myself, but I learn when corrected. The problem is that for many people, it does't matter as much. If you have bad grammar, or write poorly, it won't matter because so many other people have bad grammar and write poorly as well. You don't see anything wrong with it. It's usually simple things to: capitalization, punctuation, proper tense, and spelling. I understand typos occur, and sometimes people just don't know better. Fine. The biggest problems are the use of chat words, like "u" for "you" and other problems. People use these in a casual atmosphere, and I feel it becomes normal for them. They see proper writing as work. Meh, I dunno, mybe i be tinkin 2 much abot tis.
写作的「可接受标准」会随读者代际更替而变化。
我想知道，随着时间推移，这种趋势会不会改变人们认可的写作标准。等今天这批爱发短信的青少年进入政府和企业的领导层，他们可能更接受这种写作风格。
neovive查看英文原文
I wonder if, over time, this trend will lead to a shift in what is considered acceptable writing. Once the "texting" teenagers of today take positions of leadership in government and corporations, they may be more accepting of this writing style.
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