Erica Bryant:
Carefully chosen words can change the world. Phyllis Mindell taught me this lesson when I was 15 years old and she sits on my shoulder as I write columns for the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper in Rochester, New York.
As a columnist, I aim to inform, inspire and persuade. My work matters most when done on behalf of the powerless — lead-poisoned toddlers, children languishing in dysfunctional schools, mentally ill people who are mistreated by the criminal justice system.
In such cases, powerful language is critical. If I ever wrote a sentence like this, “I think we should make landlords clean up lead hazards to protect children,” a little Phyllis would show up on my shoulder, frowning. She wouldn’t leave until the unnecessary “I think” had been removed. She would sit there till the sentence read more like this, “Justice demands that your tax dollars don’t enrich landlords whose shoddy properties poison children.”
My father introduced me to Phyllis. He was an engineer for Xerox at the time and the corporation required him to take one of her communications courses. Most corporate trainings were a waste of energy, he said, but this lady’s class was different. He insisted that I meet her.
Phyllis was looking for a course assistant and I applied for the job. It was difficult for me to maintain eye contact during my interview because I couldn’t stop looking at the hundreds of books that stretched floor to ceiling in her office. She overlooked my faux pas, and took me on as her assistant.
I made copies and helped with seminar logistics at the Memorial Art Gallery. I was also allowed to take Phyllis’ courses on powerful and effective communication. The lessons were created for professionals, but even as a teenager I could see the value of powerful language, clear presentation and the importance of preparation. I could see how passive voice, weak “I” statements and disorganization hurt your chances of conveying information or convincing anyone of anything.
One of my duties was passing out 15-pound Webster’s unabridged dictionaries to seminar participants. She gave me one to keep and I lugged it along with me to Boston University, where I studied English and French Literature. I used it as a young journalist and today, it is held together with tape, and still frequently opened.
During my career, I have written thousands of articles and columns. My work has received awards from the New York Associated Press Association and the New York Association of News Publishers. I have appeared on NPR and CNN and delivered speeches at a variety of local colleges, schools and organizations. Long ago Phyllis told me that readers and audiences “deserve your best words.” I have tried to deliver.
Even in this sped-up age of information overload, carefully chosen words can still elevate. Thoughtful phrases are needed. Communication — true communication — matters more than ever.
Megan
Megan is a former mentee of The Word Grandma, working and training with Dr. Mindell in her communications consulting firm, Well-Read. Below is an abridged version of her story.
Thank you again Phyllis for reaching out and for being a role model of a strong woman, mother, entrepreneur, business counselor, writer, language lover. It is great to be back in touch and I look forward to continuing the conversation.
***
I graduated from University in 1997, having continued to juggle competitive tennis and a deep love of literature and learning. With a lot of work and the support of great teammates and professors, my college career culminated in an NCAA Division III team national championship and highest honors for my thesis on contemporary Irish poetry. I then spent a year in St Andrews, Scotland, on a Bobby Jones fellowship, which gave me time to realize that I wasn’t ready for the ivory tower and wanted to work. I joined a consulting firm as a business analyst in Chicago in 1998 and set about learning the language and building blocks of strategy and business.
Business communication and the rigorous, organized thinking required for client engagements came fairly easily (with my Well-Read training and years of breaking down texts). However, Microsoft Excel skills were much tougher to acquire, which made it lucky that a charming analyst was willing to give me Saturday Excel tutorials. He quickly became my boyfriend, my partner and my rock, and, at long last from my family’s perspective, my husband. Our years have been filled with laughter and growth, luckily always together.
We moved together to San Francisco to dip into the startup scene and then in 2002 to Cambridge for graduate school, Harvard Law School for me and HBS for him. After graduation we moved back to Chicago (I took the bar and got married in the summer of 2005), where I clerked for a federal judge for a year and then joined the corporate/transactional team at a law firm. I enjoyed the fast-paced merger and acquisition work and camaraderie and chance to serve clients. In 2009, we moved to Milwaukee to try on life in a smaller city — slightly less hectic jobs, beautiful 100 year old money pit of a house on a tree-lined street where we knew and loved our neighbors, two cossetted rescue dogs.
Our first daughter, was born in 2012 and became the radiant sun in our universe. She was born healthy but with the genetic condition of achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism. After educating ourselves on the condition and the medical/milestone issues that we needed to look out for, we settled into the routine of loving her and having our lives turned upside down as new parents. Our chance to live abroad came in 2014, with a great job opportunity for in Sydney. I was able to transfer my in-house senior corporate counsel position to our Australian office, and we have been enjoying this down-under adventure for the past 2.5 years. Our second daughter was born in 2015, and she and her big sister have thrived here in this sunny, global city. Family ties are going to bring us home before too long — Sydney is beautiful, but grandparents are better.