'When writers speak'

I admire Paul Krugman. Which is why I read his columns in New York Times and his blog, although some of them are hardly understandable, as far as my unlettered economic mind is concerned.

I admire Krugman's eloquence and the richness and power of his prose. But when I listen to him, I wonder if he's the same Krugman who writes the columns. When he talks, he stammers. Sometimes it takes him a long time to get his message across.



Still, Krugman has my admiration. After all, "writers don’t have to be brilliant conversationalists; it’s not their job to be smart except, of course, when they write," argues Arthur Krystal in his essay, "When Writers Speak."

Thanks for Sir Jose Carillo for the pointer.

Why we need to weed out wordiness?

Wordiness, Robert Hartwell Fiske argues, is not only an obstacle to effective communication. It also impedes:

• Success --- Almost all professional people know that success in business partly depends on good communication skills, on writing and speaking clearly and persuasively. Businesspeople who cannot express well are often at a disadvantage in the corporate world.


• Companionship --- Few of us enjoy being with someone who speaks incessantly or incoherently...We lose interest in what a person says and, ultimately, in who a person is.


• Self-knowledge --- A superfluity of words conceals more than it reveals. We need time to be silent and still, time to reflect on the past and think about the future; without it, no one is knowable.