Know Your Audience
Have you ever seen The Princess Bride? It is a Rob Reiner film released in 1987, based on the 1973 novel by William Goldman.
It’s a swashbuckling fairy tale with all the classic elements of a great story, and humour to boot. The lovely Princess Buttercup, the handsome hero, Westley, masquerading as the Dread Pirate Roberts, the evil Prince Humperdinck, the gentle giant Fezzik, Rodents of Unusual Size, the Fire Swamp—this story has it all.
Most people I know can quote at least a few lines from the film. “Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” “As you wish!” Or “Anybody want a peanut?” Classic stuff.
One of my favourite catch lines is that of the scheming Sicilian villain, Vizzini, who likes to exclaim with his signature lisp, “In-con-theivable!”
After hearing this one too many times, the revenge-seeking Montoya, whose first language is Spanish, counters with “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
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The humour, of course, lies in the fact that the root of the word “inconceivable” is “conceive.” To Montoya, a non-native English speaker, “conceive” means one thing—to become pregnant.
In fact, Vizzini’s use of “Inconceivable!”—aside from his pronunciation—is exactly correct. He uses it to describe an idea as being so unthinkable that it would not be formed (or conceived) in the human mind. Another synonym would be unimaginable. When Montoya hears the word, however, to him it just means infertility! It seems out of place, and maybe a little risqué.
This little story always reminds me that when you are writing or editing for business, you have to know your audience. Otherwise, you can completely miss the mark, even if you are completely correct. The reader’s perception is just as important as the writer’s accuracy.
It also shows the importance of getting a second opinion. A freelance editor acts as your first audience, and can point out anything confusing, jarring, misleading, or odd that might put off your target market. Just another reason why it makes sense to have your business documents professionally edited.