Everyone has seen them – Bad Signs.
No, I’m not speaking of ominous omens, no black cats in the path or spilled salt and broken mirrors. Not even lonely night visits from the local raven. As eerie as they might be, they probably aren’t actually signs from anyone or anything.
Real bad signs aren’t nearly as spooky. However, they can bode potent bad tidings for anyone foolish enough to put them up. A bad sign will likely fail to serve its designated purpose and will in any number of ways reflect poorly on the one who hung it.
There are multiple levels to bad signage. Firstly, and most obvious, there is bad spelling and grammar. Lynne Truss’ best-selling book “Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation” offers a prime example right in the title of how faulty punctuation can derail a sentence entirely.
One may wish to tell the guests at the zoo what the friendly panda’s diet consists of, but without a proper comma, the visitors will be left concerned that the furry fiend will open fire and flee the scene as soon as its done with its dinner.
A sign with glaring or confusing errors could be misinterpreted. More likely it will be ignored, and the reader will think less of the authority and competence of whoever posted it. Either end is not ideal.
The second big problem with signs is tone. In the internet age, we often discuss the importance of not posting something on line that you wouldn’t say in person. The same rule ought to apply to signs.
I have often stumble upon posted messages riddled full of underlining, repetition, exclamation points and that classic old chestnut of implicit earnestness – all-caps. No matter how much passion you have about your request or instruction, these exuberances do not help.
What is often intended as added emphasis is almost always read as aggressive yelling. And yelling in person very rarely improves matters. Yelling remotely never will. I know first-hand how aggressive notes can cause tension in a workplace. This approach risks damaging relationships and sparking division.
To avoid misinterpretation, there are always two good steps to follow before posting any sign:
1) Double and Triple Check for accuracy. Have someone else proofread. You can never be too thorough.
2) Read it out loud. If you find that you don’t like the way it sounds, odds are the people who see it won’t like the way it reads.
Following those simple steps can go a long way to ending the scourge of bad signs. One you can rest peacefully knowing your communication is clear, you can go back to focusing energy on cleaning up that salt and staring down the pesky midnight ravens.
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