Tag Archives: Rants

Why I Hate ‘You Guys’

By Phil Stella | Published: September 5, 2018

A reader asked what I thought about using the phrase ‘you guys’ when talking to a group of people. While there may be nothing wrong with it and lots of people use it, there’s nothing really right with it, either. And you never know when someone in your audience might take offense at it. In contemporary usage, it’s usually gender-neutral, but still a little lame.

So, I try to avoid that phrase when I can. Instead, I try to use ‘you’, ‘all of you’ or even ‘you folks’ as less lame alternatives. And there’s nothing wrong with the traditional ‘ladies and gentlemen’ either.

So, when I’m on top of my game, you guys will not hear me say ‘you guys’

Why I Hate ‘two (2)’

By Phil Stella | Published: August 8, 2018

I recently got a document from a client asking me to review and comment. It included the phrase ‘… schedule two (2) planning meetings … ‘. I’m not making this up.  I don’t get it – people still think they need to tell readers that the word ‘two’ means 2. Most workplace readers know that and reminding them can be insulting or annoying. It is to me.

Here’s a simple solution. With numerical references ‘zero’ – ‘nine’, write out the words, as in ‘three weeks’ or ‘eight revisions’. For references to ten or greater, use numbers, as in ’20 team members’ or ’11 percent’. But there’s never a good reason to do it two (2) times. Make sense?

We Know Where Cleveland Is!

By Phil Stella | Published: June 14, 2018

I regularly attend networking or business events in Cleveland, where everyone introduces their businesses. Lots of people mention that they’re located in Cleveland, Ohio or Lakewood, Ohio or Beachwood, Ohio. They don’t bother to realize that they don’t need to remind people that these locations were in Ohio. Everyone knows that. Now, if they were in an obscure town like Lameville Heights, some people might need to know that was in Ohio. Read More »