RE: OT: Profanity in the workplace

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

 John Posada said:
[...]I have a problem with those who
> "hijack" a conversation to state their indignation about a word they
> object to.
> 
> It immediatly changes the direction and tone of the conversation from
> the subject at hand to the new subject.
> 
> You can be rolling along, making progress on a topic, have everyone in
> the mind-space and clicking along, and in the heat of the momemt,
> someone utters the word "XXXX" (whatever).
> 
> Don't say anything and everyone stays on the subject. Take the
> "initiative" to expres how you feel about that word (like you are the
> word-police to begin with) and BAM! there goes the train of thought.
> 
> If you object to something someone said, after the meeting, approach
> them in private and explain your position. If they have a problem with
> what you are discussing, escalate it. All you did at the moment it
> happened is put them on the defensive and state that you feel yourself
> as morally superiior.

Having escaped all of my Catholic upgrinding... er... upbringing, 
except the guilt, I can't muster respect for arguments based on 
religion or religious beliefs - since I don't have those. So, 
if somebody objects to some phrase that I've used, or to one 
that somebody else used when I was present, I'll respond much 
more positively to arguments from professionalism and from 
(was it?) strength of mind, as were presented a few posts ago. 


Also, since (again) I don't share the religious beliefs, 
I usually invert anyone's implication of moral superiority 
that they base on that association. 

On a different tack, we can hark back to that recent 
post about the naval commander - praise in public; dress-down 
in private. That's a good idea not only toward subordinates.

So, on several counts, I think you are exactly right. 

 - KevinThe information contained in this electronic mail transmission 
may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected 
from disclosure. If you have received this communication in 
error, please notify us immediately by replying to this 
message and deleting it from your computer without copying 
or disclosing it.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Use Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word, or HTML and 
produce desktop, Web, or print deliverables. Just write (or import) 
and Doc-To-Help does the rest. Free trial: http://www.doctohelp.com

Explore CAREER options and paths related to Technical Writing,
learn to create SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS documents, and
get tips on FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION best practices. Free at:
http://www.ModernAnalyst.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info. 

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat