Technical Communication Ruined Letter Writing

Text on the meme

How a career in technical communication ruined me as a letter writer BEFORE: Unnecessary verbiage Redundant Superfluous detail Unnecessary—omit Sentence too long Avoid parentheticals Dear Aunt Bee, I wanted to thank you so much for the beautiful new angora sweater you sent me for my birthday! I can't believe you remembered that blue is my absolute favorite color (especially that gorgeous shade of robin's egg blue, which reminds me of the summers I spent with you in the country, all those years ago)! I'll think of you whenever I wear it. I really appreciate the time and effort you took to pick out this gift, wrap it so nicely, and send it to me. With lots of love, your niece, Subjective Unnecessary. She knows who you are. Avoid future tense; avoid contractions Last sentence does not add anything to the meaning. Suzanne AFTER: Dear Aunt Bee. Thank you for the sweater. It is: Warm Soft Blue I think of you when I wear the sweater. I appreciate your kindness. Sincerely, Suzanne

What it means

Сравниваются длинное эмоциональное письмо и его безжалостно сокращённая версия после карьеры в технической коммуникации. Шутка в том, что правила ясности, краткости и удаления лишних слов превращают тёплое личное письмо в сухой список фактов.

Objects

letter / письмо text document / текстовый документ blue annotations / синие аннотации red correction labels / красные исправляющие подписи yellow highlights / жёлтые выделения paragraph / абзац bullet list / маркированный список sweater / свитер blue color / синий цвет angora wool / шерсть ангорской козы gift / подарок envelope implied by letter / конверт, подразумеваемый письмом before-and-after comparison / сравнение до и после