The Power of [Love] Punctuation

Today is Valentine’s Day when the shops are filled with pink and red flowers and chocolate hearts, and we are meant to feel more love than any other day of the year.

The bonus of punctuation is that we get to feel and see it every day of the year.

Font and CAPITAL LETTERS

If you’re lucky, you’ll receive a love letter in your inbox today. But more likely, YOU MAY GET ONE OF THESE IN YOUR INBOX. Alternatively, one of these could land in your mailbox. Neither of them enhances the mood as would a bouquet of garden-picked multi-coloured roses.

Choosing an appropriate font for your writing is critical. It sets the tone of your message; it speaks to your brand and corporate identity and it is a direct reflection of your company’s professionalism and credibility.

And please go easy on the capital letters. Before you capitalise a letter, stop, pause and think. Does it really need to be capitalised? Does it enhance the reader’s experience? If your informed decision warrants a capital, be sure to maintain consistency by implementing the same pattern throughout the document.

Punctuation marks!

You have thoughtfully selected a font that is indicative of your style, tone and reputation but you have left behind the rules of punctuation in grade 12, thinking you’d never need them again. Colons, hyphens, commas, !? play a fundamental role in your writing!! Again they set the mood and credibility of your message…they can hold as much weight as words. Make sure to select your punctuation appropriately.

Spatial awareness

Writing can be just as claustrophobic as a jam-packed elevator during loadshedding. The reader still needs to breathe and process your message. Allow them to do so. Sentences that are long-winded with minimal punctuation and densely strung with copious adjectives describing highly technical terms that require the use of Google translate will leave the reader in a heap on the floor.

Give the reader space.

Paragraphs play a powerful role here, too. Think about your sentence construction and think about the paragraph breaks. You are writing for the reader and they need to be at the forefront of your mind when communicating.

Keep it plain

The reader is king. According to the South African Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, the reader has the “right to information in plain and understandable language.”

Plain language is not about keeping the message simple. It’s writing that is well-organised, free of jargon and appropriate to the subject and audience. The wording and structure need to be clear enough for the intended reader to:

·       Find what they need

·       Understand what they find

·       Be able to use that information.

A well-planned document can be as appealing as a box of chocolates. Just as you’ve taken the time to plan your message, make sure to give punctuation and its friends the respect that they are due.

 And if you need a nudge or an extra pair of eyes, drop me an email on lang3lish@gmail.com.