Communication FUNdamentals

Aug. 26, 2008

Tuesday Tips Series: Words Mean Things, Don't They? Part 2

In recent years, the meanings of certain words have been changed so as to be almost unrecognizable!   So many words have been changed that we have come to the point where words don't really mean anything anymore.  Continuing with my series, "Words Mean Things, Don't They?"...This week's word is..."New"!  How could you go wrong with a word like new you ask?  Think about it for a minute.  What's new?  What is new?  Webster's defines new as: "having recently come into existence".  There are many products on the market which are reintroduced to us as "New" or perhaps venture further with..."New and Improved".  Surprisingly, "New" doesn't always mean that it has come into existence recently and the way they  "improved" the product isn't something you would consider beneficial.  If you have been to the store recently, you have, no doubt, noticed that the quantity of what you buy has gone down as prices have either remained the same or gone up!  ABC News reported on this latest controversy.  They discovered that Brawny has decreased its paper towel count from 110 per package to 88 while Scott Tissue has smaller sheets without a smaller price.  Many of these companies are releasing these smaller products with "new" packaging.  Mostly what is new is that you don't get as much as you used to!  Speaking of ABC News, much of what's on the news isn't really news!  Most people would consider "news" to be things of interest that happened recently.  The fact that Aunt Mildred made her bed this morning might not be of interest to most people.  Similarly, though most people would be interested in Elvis Presley,  anything he would have done  could not have been recent enough to call "news".  Much of the time the news stations want to keep your attention so much that they dangle high profile crime cases or famous people and their troubles before your nose promising news.  Invariably what you get is an update that sounds kind of like this... "And now for an update in the Lincoln case... Investigators still believe that John Wilkes Booth acted alone.  The police are not pursuing a conspiracy theory at this time.  Booth and Lincoln's condition remain unchanged."  In other words, they report that, regretfully, there is nothing new to report.  I have been frustrated time and again watching the local news waiting for some news on a subject of interest only to find that there was no news on the news!  Nothing of interest happened recently.  But they have to report on that!  In fact, they spend quite a lot of promo time announcing that they will bring you the very latest up-to-date non news! Words mean things, don't they?  Stay tuned for next week's edition of Tuesday Tips featuring another misused word or term.  From JoJo's Purple Crayon... Where's FIMM?  Did you find himm this week? Where's FIMM? Come find the only Foot in Mouth Man picture that is different from all the rest. Email what he looks like and where you found himm to fimm@artofeloquence.com and you could win a free Art of Eloquence eProduct of your choice!

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