Friday, May 15, 2015

The Great Word Judge

Despite the fact that I was hired to as an expert in the written word, I keep getting surprised when people at my company come to me for my expert opinion.  For example, I received an email last week from a high-level manager in Denmark asking if the company should use the word "part" or "component" when referring to the products we make.  Being me, I couldn't just give her a quick answer, so explained the advantages and disadvantages in either choice, though I agreed that one word should be picked as the standard.  All in all, I wrote over 500 words on the topic.

I never shared my opinion, though I preferred "parts" for several reasons, one of which was that it's a more common word.  Perhaps my opinion came through, because earlier this week, a company-wide email was sent out telling everyone to use the word "parts" from now on.  My name was never cited as a reason for the decision, but I don't need credit to feel a swelling of pride.

I'm not sure why it feels a little weird to be seen as an expert in my field (maybe because the people at my last couple of jobs didn't really respect me?), but it mostly feels great and I hope it keeps happening.

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