Today is the festival of Santa Lucia.  In Scandinavian countries – where it is seriously dark at this time of year – girls wearing crowns of candles are leading processions of candle-bearing children, bringing light in anticipation of the winter solstice.

Lots of holidays this time of year are about light. Hanukkah and Christmas, of course, but also Diwali, which comes earlier. (The first time I saw Diwali lights go up in late October, I thought people were really getting a jump on Christmas.)

And then we mark the new year by dropping a big spangly ball of 32,256 lights in Times Square.

We can also bring light in our communications. After all, the root of clear, as in Clear, Effective Communications, is the Latin word for light.

Much writing serves to obscure (root: dark) rather than to clarify – whether deliberately [insert rant about politicians] or inadvertently.

But you and I, [fname] – we choose to bring light. We:

• Speak to readers’ needs rather than to our own.
• Say what we know to be true.
• Try to be kind, considering whether the truth will hurt or help before we put it out there.
• Stick to specifics rather than throwing generalities around.
• Write simple, plain language that anyone can understand.

If you espouse these values but have trouble carrying them out, don’t worry! You bring light by being good at what you do. 

We can talk, if you like, about how I can help you communicate more clearly and effectively. But both of us, in our ways, are going around with crowns of candles on our heads. Thank you for being a light-bearer!