Flash your style

Communication World, April-May, 1998 by Barry House

In the. U.S. movie "The Paper," actor Clint Howard plays a newspaper copy editor who, in his first appearance on screen, calls out, "What's the plural of 'ultimatum'?"

Even if you don't work for a newspaper, your company probably has people asking questions like that. Every day, people who need to communicate in their jobs find themselves forced to make specific word choices. Sometimes they have to decide how to spell a word that's not listed in a standard dictionary; sometimes they must choose whether to use an abbreviation for some term; sometimes, they even need to know the plural of ultimatum.

Those moments of decision are especially likely if your company does not have its own style guide - or if the company has not standardized on some available guide, such as The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual or the New York Times Manual of Style and Usage.

Without a company style guide, you can find yourself frantically flipping through trade journals on a big project's deadline day, trying to determine whether your industry prefers "online" or "on-line" in references to computer usage. With a company guide, you can quickly find the preferred spelling and use the time you gain to deal with some other deadline-induced disaster.

Considering the help a style guide can offer, the number of companies that operate without one is amazing. It's also understandable.

After all, getting the style on paper and distributing it to everyone requires time that nobody has. Not only that, but groups charged with codifying the company's style can get bogged down in endless debate over such questions as, "Should we allow ROI on first reference?"

It's time well spent, though. Putting the company's preferred style on paper eliminates the handiest excuses for getting something wrong - "I didn't know what the rule was."

If you've grown weary of telling people that it's "online" (unless it's "on-line" in your company), consider compiling a company style guide. Before you begin, though, consider the time commitment such work will require. Also consider the potential political problems you'll encounter.

Then minimize the number of problems you'll encounter by following these steps: Build a case; find a champion; get input; compile the guide; review, review, review; and monitor the guide's use.

Let's look at each step in detail:

1. Build a case.

Before doing anything else, build a business case for creating a style guide. This really shouldn't be difficult if your company has no written guide, but it is absolutely essential.

Unless you can show that your lack of a style guide is actually affecting business, you won't be able to persuade anyone that a style guide is necessary or even helpful.

To build your case, study your company's literature. Look at print ads, brochures, specification sheets, instruction guides, everything your company sends out to the world. Take note of every inconsistency.

But keep in mind that a literature analysis is only part of the case you have to build. You also have to determine whether the inconsistencies you find are having any effect on business.

Do you have a customer service department? Get to know the people there. Find out the percentage of their calls that deal with confusion created by inconsistent word usage in your company's instructions and specifications.

Talk to the sales force. Find out if variable word usage has presented image problems that hamper sales.

Every company has a critical mass of customer complaints and lost sales that will compel it to create a style guide. Keep building your case until you've reached that level.

2. Find a champion.

Once you've built your case, find a champion for your style guide. The ideal champion is a senior executive with a reputation for a hard nose.

Why do you need a champion? Remember that a style guide will not be welcomed by many people. Once it's finalized and distributed, it can be viewed as the final law, the answer to any question that begins, "What do we call...?" People who now make their own decisions will have to bow to The Book.

Your champion can remove hurdles people throw in your way. Your champion can also make sure that you, and the people whose assistance you need, are able to find ample time to devote to the project.

You may be able to push your project through without finding a champion. If you are a senior executive, for example, you will probably be able to get it done. If you're a step or two below that level, however, finding a champion will make your work much easier.

Once you've got your champion, keep him or her informed. Send the champ a brief weekly note summarizing your progress.

3. Get input.

Okay, that subheading should read, "Get lots of input," because that's exactly what you will need.

Be especially careful to get input from any group or department that will criticize any style guide that is distributed for use. Every company has departments full of self-designated snipers; getting their involvement in the development stage will help you disarm the guerrillas. At the very least, you can confiscate some of their ammunition.