Letters

Few of us are fortunate enough to have know a good "letter writer" in our life times. Most of us tend to be better communicators in either the spoken work or the written word, but seldom both. Let's be honest most of us are "talkers". Most really good written communicators tend to come up short on the verbal side, but it appears to me that written communications carry more weight. The era of writing a good letter or memo for that matter have just about passed. We tend to jot a few words in an email or pick up the phone and bam- we are done.

I don't know why I found myself musing about this today, but it was on my mind and I reflected back on people that I have known with a great skill for writing. I don't think I have it by the way, as a matter of fact I know I don't, it is a real gift that few are blessed with.

I have known 2 or 3 really good written communicators in my lifetime. Amazing really, I am nearly 58 years old and have only know 2 or 3. Several years ago there was a regional manager with a company that we worked for that had the "gift". His name was Tom. Tom was a moody guy, whose verbal skills were lacking and he tended to really irate people with his manor whenever he was in the room. In fact he was down right easy not to like. But when he wrote a letter, (we used to do that back then), it was powerful. Every word seemed to have weight and value. It was like he was building something of lasting value with each communication. They were never ambiguous or vague, and no matter what the subject matter, they left you feeling satisfied. You felt as if he had shared something intimate of great value, even if he was dressing you down about something you had failed to do.

There is a good chance that you have never crossed a "writer" in your lifetime, they are rare. If that is the case, then this may all sound a bit strange. There are many sources out there and they are worth finding just so that you can have the experience. When Ken Burns did his epic on the Civil War for public television, it was the letters form soldiers that he laced in, that kept us spellbound for hours. Most were short with amazing clarity and feeling. That kind of communication is hard for us and nearly lost.

I Googled "How to write a letter" and got 57,300,000 hits. Must be tough if there are that many results on how to do it. Next time you get the chance pick up a book of letters. It helps if they were written at least 50 years ago. (more people knew how back then) Read a few, and I think you will agree we have lost a lot when it comes to communicating with our fellow man.

Maybe we can do better.