这是OnHERWAY的第265篇原创文章
这本书我曾经在某个月末的资源分享贴里介绍过，但是它太值得单独拿出来推荐了。如果可以，每一位需要用英语作为交流介质的人，都应该好好读读这本书。
本书从听说读写不同维度，全面拆解了如何更好地与人沟通。由于每个部分都很精彩，我着重就拎一下最基础的写作部分，毕竟也和我很多年英语写作的心得有相得益彰之处。
如书名所示—“Simply said”：简明扼要是沟通的关键。因此最关键的一步，就是需要去除掉写作中的冗余部分，也就是作者口中的"Get rid of the clutter"。可以从如下操作性意见入手：
去掉无意义的词。比如：
Currently, we have 40 staff members. 为什么要用Currently? 删了～
精简一切可精简的词。比如：
During the course of…换成during
In a bid to improve…换成to improve
Due to the fact that…换成because
以前学口译的时候，不止一位讲师分享，中国来的学生特别喜欢用长的连接词或者大词，不知道是不是和我们母语的习惯/文化有关。在英语中，大词真的不一定意味着高级，能用小词解决问题是更好的。比如最近一朋友跟我说“我觉得这样办应该就没什么问题了”， 她是这样表述的："I think that will do it."
避免使用易造成误解的词或者符号。比如：
Former and latter.
试着读一下这个句子：Ford and Chrysler have long been competing for a larger share of the car market. The former is a larger and older company. 请问你读到第二句的时候，是不是还会回过头去看看到底说的是福特还是克莱斯勒？尽量不要用这样的表述方式。
“/”这个链接符号
就是典型的沟通甩锅～这个词可以表示“both” ，也可以表示"either"，也可以表示“我不知道选哪个，你来选。
同理，避免使用"and/or"这种模棱两可的表述。
援引作者的话："Pick one. Trust me, you can. "如果你用这个方式写作，不是easier, 而是lazier.
用“强动词”来清晰直观地表述句子的意思。比如看这句话：
"Too often our tendency is to make things more complicated by contorting the action in the sentence."
作者故意写了这句别扭的句子来做范例，阐释他的观点。这句话读起来之所以拗口，原因在于句子的核心词本应是"complicate"，可这里却用了"make things more complicated"的系表结构，而整个句子的动词则轻描淡写落在了一个"is"上。更好的表述方式是：We often complicate our sentences by contorting the verbs.
总结一下，留意这些词的使用——
-动词的名词形式，例如-tion, -ment, -ance, -ing结尾的名词，可以的时候都替换成动词。
He made a statement that he was dropping out of the race. 不如写成：He stated that he is quitting the race.
-To be是非常弱的动词形式，建议看原句找找有没有更“强”的动词可以替代To be 句式造句。这里来一个高阶一些的例子：
The process for reviewing documents is flawed. It doesn't met our needs. 不如写成：The process for reviewing documents fails to meet our demands.
减少This/That等可能引起不明指代的词的使用，比如：
Management's decision resulted in a major cost overrun. This is a big problem for the hospital.
这里的This, 可以指代management’s decision ，也可以指代overrun, 还可以指代前面一整句子。（我记得一些语法书说一般是指代整个句子——但可真不一定呀）
遇到这种情况，就宁可把它说全说完整：Management's decision resulted in a major cost overrun. This additional cost ia a big problem for the hospital.
关于主动被动语态的使用：主动表示直接&强烈的意愿（大部分时候建议多使用），被动则留下了解释的空间（特定时候使用）。而作者则借用了US Constitution里的相关语句，对两者的应用场景做了极好的注解（避免不必要的麻烦不贴了）
用主动语态的部分意在表明（下文援引作者的话）："Our Forefathers wanted to ensure that their reasons for taking the actions they took were as clear as possible."
而被动语态的部分意在表明：施动者是谁不重要，重要的是动作本身；另外，200多年前写的文本，要做到历经时间检验经久不衰，必须留出一定的诠释空间——（下文援引作者的话）
"The drafters of the Constitution knew the content of the Constitution would have to be applied in settings they had no way to anticipate. While scholars and common citizens have debated the content of the Constitution endlessly since it was enacted, we accept the Preamble, written in the active voice, at face value."
本书一共有19章，而我只是蜻蜓点水地勾勒了其中不到2章的内容，且集中在写作部分。其实，作者关于口头表述/做演讲的部分的内容也非常精彩，这里我分享几段摘要：
Don't introduce yourself by your title, but how is the population you serve better off because of what you do for a living? This is the difference of having status vs having impact.
Compare: "I am managing director of XXX PR agency vs " I help people communicate better"
If you know the audience, just say "I help lawyers communicate better".
Don't use the word "presentation", nobody wants to be presented to. Instead, say: “I am here to talk to you about XXX.”
Don’t use the word "slide"--downplay the "medium" and focus on the content. So, in stead of saying “On the previous slide”, say “A moment ago we were discussing...”
Using humor in a presentation is like the price of a diamond: if you have to ask, you can't afford it.
抛砖引玉到此。想要全方位提升英语沟通表达能力的朋友（还有肢体语言方面的建议），真心推荐拿下这本书作为实用宝典，常看常新！
