The San Diego Union Tribune

Michael Kinsman
San Diego Union Tribune

Professor Bernie Gaidosch thinks we talk too much. More to the point, we don't write enough.

"Our society is a oral society," he says. "We all speak. We all watch TV. And most of us are very skilled at speaking."

Gaidosch, a professor at Toronto's George Brown College, says that comes at the expense of writing – and that hurts individuals as they proceed through their careers.

"This is a huge problem, and very few people seem to be paying attention to it," he says. "I feel like the Little Dutch Boy holding my finger in the dike."

Gaidosch contends that individuals and businesses should pay closer attention to this since it is directly linked to career success and corporate profitability.

"Business is based around the written word," he says. "We refer to written records to find out what a business has done. We hold meetings, and we designate someone to take minutes. We write reports, because that's an effective way to distribute information."

Still, he says, very few people continue writing after their education ends.

"I don't know many people who continue to write after they get out school," he says. "Some do, but most don't. We talk to communicate and develop very effective talking skills."

He says he finds it surprising that we make assumptions that because people can communicate skillfully when they talk, that they can do it when they write, too. Employers make the assumption that everyone can write, and individuals almost always think they can write. Gaidosch contends these are faulty notions.

"Just because you speak well doesn't mean you write well," he says. "We make this assumption and then are surprised that it's not right."

In the work world, writing is essential, he says.

"Most of us don't have that preferential background that helps us get ahead in our careers," Gaidosch says. "We have to depend on our skills to get ahead in our jobs. Your ticket is how you express yourself. It's not a question of what you know, but how you communicate what you know.

"Writing clearly helps you be successful."

He also thinks that companies may be losing out when their workers are less literate.

If you can't communicate effectively between individuals and layers of management, you are not operating as efficiently as you could be. Gaidosch says that affects productivity and, ultimately, profitability.

Gaidosch, whose writing classes include young adults as well as more mature individuals, finds a wide discrepancy between what students know and what they can communicate in writing.

He often does a simple diagnostic test at the outset of the class asking a student opinions about a certain topic. When they talk about the topic their thoughts are organized, they have a good sense of vocabulary and communicate ideas clearly.

The same person, asked to state the opinion in writing, will stumble trying to be coherent.

"You would think the responses came from two different people," says Gaidosch, the author of two books on how to write that are available from his Web site (www.profsecrets.com).

When he meets with corporate recruiters, Gaidosch asks them what they are looking for in college graduates.

"They invariably say they want graduates who can read, write and think clearly," he says. "They say they'll teach them whatever else they need to know."

Yet for some reason, writing gets short shrift, he believes.

"I don't know why that is," he says. "We want people who can organize, link ideas and lead. Those are the qualities that come from people who know how to communicate. Writing is part of that communication process."

Mr. Gaidosch's self-published books The Professor's Secrets: Breaking the Silence -- How to Write Essays and Term Papers (161 pp.) and The Professor's Secrets: Breaking the Silence -- How to Get Top Marks on Tests and Exams are not sold in bookstores. They can be purchased online at www.profsecrets.com or by calling 1-877-439-3999.

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