From a press release
HALIFAX: The Thong Principle has nothing to do with minimalizing beachwear and everything to do with maximizing communication impact.
The new book, written by Nova Scotia author donalee Moulton, explores why miscommunication occurs, where writers and speakers are most likely to muddy the waters, and why we put our heads in the sand when it comes to saying what we mean.
“We are communicating more quickly and more frequently than at any other time in history.
“Unfortunately, we are also more often sending incomplete, confusing, and annoying messages that fail to do the job they were intended to do,” says Moulton, an award-winning author based in Halifax.
The ThongPrinciple: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say, published by Business Expert Press in the United States and distributed through Harvard Business Publishing, takes readers through common communications problems including conciseness, elevated language, and disorganized language.
The chapter, “It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It, Idiot,” delves into the issue of tone.
“Effective communication is about more than clear content. It’s also about conveying information in a way that resonates with your audience.
“Tick them off and it doesn’t matter how brilliantly you have explained something,” says Moulton.
There is also a chapter that looks at the plain language movement and the demand for language to be understandable, not indecipherable. In the U.S., plain language is now the law. Here’s why:
While 60 percent of people can grasp the significance of the lyrics of an Elvis Presley song, only 14 percent can correctly answer four questions about the most basic components of their health insurance plan, and only two percent can understand the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee.
“This has nothing to do with the intelligence of readers and listeners and everything to do with the messages they are receiving. That’s what The Thong Principle is all about,” says Moulton.
