Post by Jim on Jan 25, 2010 15:15:55 GMT -5
#1: Never assume the other person "knows what you mean". It is a huge mistake to open your mouth (or put ink on paper) and blurt out whatever you happen to be thinking (or feeling) at the moment and then assume others understand you.
Most of the time they won't. It's a rule to live by.
Nowhere is this more vitally important than in formal court proceedings. Just because you know what you mean when you say (or write) your thoughts doesn't mean other people will. They aren't inside your head!
If you want to win arguments and get justice, remember that those who hear (or read) what you say are not inside your head!
Think of your communications like a ham radio operator. Turning on your transmitter and sending out a call is only half the equation. For your transmission to "communicate" the other person has to have his or her receiver on and tuned to your frequency. The other person also has to decipher what comes through the static and interference. If you want to win arguments and get justice, take responsibility to learn how to communicate effectively!
#2: Use simple sentences! Most people in conversation and in writing use what English teachers call run-on sentences like this one that doesn't yet have a period, because this one is being written to demonstrate why run-on sentences fail to achieve your objective, since there are so many separate thoughts being expressed that by the time we finally get to the period down below you will have forgotten what was being said at the beginning, or you will have drifted off in a daydream about why you're bothering to read this at all for, as you know, it is difficult to concentrate on more than one idea at any particular moment in time, what with so many things people have to think about these days, like the economy and the war in Afghanistan that is costing us so much in terms of human life and dollars that one wonders if our nation's leaders actually know what's going on.
Maybe you got the point of that run-on sentence.
But, you must agree that a series of shorter sentences will work much better.
See Jack run. That's one of the first sentences most of us learned as children. It's a good one! Only three words, and you know exactly what is being communicated.
Use simple sentences: one subject, one verb, minimum adjectives, minimum adverbs!
#3: If it's really important, put it in writing!
There can be no doubt but that the written word is more powerful than what comes spewing haphazardly out of our mouths.
The written word is fixed.
It can be read again-and-again, if the meaning is at first unclear.
Especially in court battles, written arguments make a record for appeal - thus minimizing the chances that appeal will be necessary.
If you must appeal, the appellate justices can see clearly where the judge made appealable errors in the lower court proceedings. By doing this, you put the lower court judge on notice you are prepared to succeed on appeal. That always motivates judges to rule favorably, rather than run the risk of being embarassed by reversal or remand.
Put critically essential arguments and statements of law and facts in writing!
You cannot hope to win arguments - in court, at home, or at the office or sports arenas - if people don't understand your communications. Effective communication is key to winning arguments. Winning arguments is key to getting justice!
The most essential step to winning arguments and getting justice (next to knowing WHAT must be communicated) is to stop blurting out your thoughts and feelings with no regard for English syntax or what your listener (or reader) receives.
Simple sentences are powerful.
Simple sentences are "single thoughts that begin with a capital letter and end with a period"
If you make your arguments - legal or otherwise - with no regard for the simple rules of language, you cannot expect to get justice as a result ... and there's no point in crying about it when you lose, because it will be your own fault for refusing to learn.
Most of the time they won't. It's a rule to live by.
Nowhere is this more vitally important than in formal court proceedings. Just because you know what you mean when you say (or write) your thoughts doesn't mean other people will. They aren't inside your head!
If you want to win arguments and get justice, remember that those who hear (or read) what you say are not inside your head!
Think of your communications like a ham radio operator. Turning on your transmitter and sending out a call is only half the equation. For your transmission to "communicate" the other person has to have his or her receiver on and tuned to your frequency. The other person also has to decipher what comes through the static and interference. If you want to win arguments and get justice, take responsibility to learn how to communicate effectively!
#2: Use simple sentences! Most people in conversation and in writing use what English teachers call run-on sentences like this one that doesn't yet have a period, because this one is being written to demonstrate why run-on sentences fail to achieve your objective, since there are so many separate thoughts being expressed that by the time we finally get to the period down below you will have forgotten what was being said at the beginning, or you will have drifted off in a daydream about why you're bothering to read this at all for, as you know, it is difficult to concentrate on more than one idea at any particular moment in time, what with so many things people have to think about these days, like the economy and the war in Afghanistan that is costing us so much in terms of human life and dollars that one wonders if our nation's leaders actually know what's going on.
Maybe you got the point of that run-on sentence.
But, you must agree that a series of shorter sentences will work much better.
See Jack run. That's one of the first sentences most of us learned as children. It's a good one! Only three words, and you know exactly what is being communicated.
Use simple sentences: one subject, one verb, minimum adjectives, minimum adverbs!
#3: If it's really important, put it in writing!
There can be no doubt but that the written word is more powerful than what comes spewing haphazardly out of our mouths.
The written word is fixed.
It can be read again-and-again, if the meaning is at first unclear.
Especially in court battles, written arguments make a record for appeal - thus minimizing the chances that appeal will be necessary.
If you must appeal, the appellate justices can see clearly where the judge made appealable errors in the lower court proceedings. By doing this, you put the lower court judge on notice you are prepared to succeed on appeal. That always motivates judges to rule favorably, rather than run the risk of being embarassed by reversal or remand.
Put critically essential arguments and statements of law and facts in writing!
You cannot hope to win arguments - in court, at home, or at the office or sports arenas - if people don't understand your communications. Effective communication is key to winning arguments. Winning arguments is key to getting justice!
The most essential step to winning arguments and getting justice (next to knowing WHAT must be communicated) is to stop blurting out your thoughts and feelings with no regard for English syntax or what your listener (or reader) receives.
Simple sentences are powerful.
Simple sentences are "single thoughts that begin with a capital letter and end with a period"
If you make your arguments - legal or otherwise - with no regard for the simple rules of language, you cannot expect to get justice as a result ... and there's no point in crying about it when you lose, because it will be your own fault for refusing to learn.
