Good or Bad? – I was in a meeting today and someone said we had made a drastic improvement in something. I think he meant dramatic. I often hear people claiming that they want notoriety when what they really want is publicity. I worked with a person who, at least once a week, told a large group of people that, “It’s detrimental that we fix this problem immediately.” It seems that in our society today that it’s more important to use an impactful word than to actually understand what the word means. So who corrects these errors? Not many people do – they don’t want to come across as someone’s English teacher. But we’ll correct engineers on circuit designs, accountants on accrual problems, lawyers on legal language, etc. When people misuse these words, we understand what they are talking about. But others may not. If a CEO told investors that the company is making some drastic changes, the message is quite different than if he said dramatic changes. And the reason he said that is because nobody thought it was important to provide him the correct information (for the past 20 years!!). There is benefit from clear communication. So, even if you can’t do it directly, write a note that spells out the difference. The person you are helping will be grateful to you, if not today, then in the future – when they use that word correctly.