Compromising My Own Style and Voice
In a world that is constantly praising individuality and self-expression, it is easy to embrace your unique style of communication, voice, language and presentation in writing. Well, how about being told you should be yourself, however you also need to conform to the expected English standard of communication when presenting yourself to the world. As contradicting as this may sound, it actually is the reality I and many others are faced with. A recent experience taught me that English is a tool that needs to be used well and effectively, and sometimes that means avoiding your own style of writing and communication. Reality is, not everybody I meet will understand my personal dialect, and that is not an insult to my own style and voice. Writing in Standard English is a general expected standard, but this doesn’t mean one must completely neglect their own style/voice of writing.
A recent experience made me realize that there has to be a compromise between writing in Standard English and writing in my own style and voice. During an application process for a volunteer program at a clinic during the summer, I was asked to describe myself, my work and education background, and my personal goals and visions for the company. It was quite simple to answer all these in my head using my normal style and voice of communication, but for some reason, writing it down in a manner acceptable for a corporate organization began to feel overwhelming. I was swamped with thoughts of how much of ‘myself’ will be too much? Usually, the best way to engage with others is to ‘be yourself’, but what if being myself and my own style of writing did not meet the expectations of the program? I was in a predicament of whether I should use Standard English (which everybody applying would probably use, and that wouldn’t be versatile), or to write in my own style and voice (which would make my application completely unique and stand out from others). Afterall, clinics, hospitals and doctors are basically the definition of professional. After researching the clinic, I noticed their complete use of Standard English in their writing, and it occurred to me that whoever might review my application will expect the same type of Standard English writing. It made sense for the corporation and I to have a mutual understanding through effective communication. Maybe that’s exactly why Standard English is the expected norm of communication, not because one’s personal style of communication is unacceptable, but because the best way to communicate is to do it in a manner that both parties are able to understand. As I completed the application process writing in Standard English, I felt assured that there will be times when my own style and voice is appreciated and required, but this setting was better suited for the use of Standard English.
This experience made me realize that there are some settings that are best suited Standard English, while there are settings that allow for me to write in my own style and voice. A more casual or easy-going platform would happily embrace and celebrate one’s own style and voice, while other formal and conventional platforms require communication in Standard English. This made me think of my own future career in healthcare, and how I should begin to practice learning how to balance between communicating in Standard English or in my own style and voice in the workplace. As a healthcare practitioner, I would be exchanging dialogue and information with many different people, from different walks of life, and even different countries. Reality is, not all my future colleagues and patients will understand my personal style and voice in writing and speaking and vice versa. Understandably, before any hospital hires me, they would want to be assured that I will be able to communicate effectively with others like my colleagues and patients. This does not mean that my future career wouldn’t be representative of my true self; it also does not mean that I should never use my own style of writing and communication elsewhere. It just means that within a professional setting (my workplace), I would be valued and appreciated for my ability to communicate in the set standard. I can still be celebrated for my style and voice outside of work by family, friends, other platforms and even the very same colleagues that I work with. The saying ‘there is a time and place for everything’ fits best in summarizing my entire discussion- writing in Standard English in one setting does not mean it’s best for every other setting, and it does not mean my own style and voice needs to be compromised.
Writing in Standard English in any situation and platform is actually a personal choice. Just because there is a general and expected standard in the workplace and in any scenario involving the exchange of dialogue, it doesn’t mean that the use of Standard English is required. However, chances are my ability to distinguish between the best time to use Standard English, and the best time to use my own style will actually work in my favor. When I finally understood that writing in Standard English does not compromise my own style and voice, I opened myself up to engaging effectively with diverse groups of people anywhere in the world.
