Tongue and Quill

1 AFH 33-33730 June 1997 TheTongue and Quill Communication is an essential tool for the twenty-first century Air ForceReport Documentation PageReport Date 30 Jun 1997 Report Type N/ADates Covered ( to) - Title and Subtitle The Tongue and Quill Contract Number Grant Number Program Element Number Author(s) Project Number Task Number Work Unit Number Performing Organization Name(s) and Address(es) Secretary of the Air Force Pentagon Washington, DC20330-1250 Performing Organization Report Number AFI33-337 Sponsoring/Monitoring Agency Name(s) and Address(es) Sponsor/Monitor s Acronym(s) Sponsor/Monitor s Report Number(s) Distribution/Availability Statement Approved for public release, distribution unlimitedSupplementary Notes Abstract Subject Terms Report Classification unclassifiedClassification of this page unclassifiedClassification of Abstract unclassified Limitation of Abstract UUNumber of Pages 306BY ORDER OF THEAIR FORCE HANDBOOK 33-337 SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE1 June 1997 Communications and InformationTHE Tongue AND QUILLS upersedes AFH 37-137, 31 August 1994 Certified by: ACSC/DEX (Lt Col Kermit Phelps)OPR: ACSC/DEXP (Mrs.)

2 Gwen Story)Pages: 300 /Distribution F&20081,&$7,1* ,6 $32:(5)8/ 722/ )25 7+(7:(17< ),567 &(1785<$,5 )25&(The Tongue and Quill is dedicated to every man and woman in today s twenty-first century AirForce who will ever sling ink at paper, pound a keyboard, give a briefing, or staff a package tosupport the mission. Currently, The Tongue and Quill is widely used by Air Force military andcivilian members, professional military school educators and students, and civilian corporationsaround the United United States Air Force employees, it is important we communicate clearly and effectively tocarry out our mission. This handbook together with AFM 33-326, Preparing OfficialCommunications, will provide the necessary information to ensure clear communications written or all you enthusiastic users worldwide, keep up the good fight!

3 SUMMARY OF REVISIONSThis revision was accomplished by using the Microsoft Word desktop publishing system. Itmerged portions of AFI 37-160, Volume 5, and deletes copyrighted cartoons, quotes and art. Italso adds quotes, art, editing word lists, parts of speech, computer layout and design,wordsmithing marks, stages of a meeting, Federal Government r sum , display dot, punctuationrules, capitalization rules, number rules, phonetic alphabet, computer citations, copyright detailsand reference abbreviations. Finally, it modifies military briefings to discuss meetings in general;expands draft and edit, message, r sum , mechanics of writing and research; and updates researchsources, active listening and phone !speakingiiiCONTENTSTHE Philosophical Framework of CommunicationsTHE BASIC Steps for Better CommunicationsAnalyze Purpose and Audience.

4 9 Conduct the Research .. 13 Support Your Ideas .. 21 Get Organized ..27 Draft and 33 Building Effective 35 And Paragraphs .. 53 Overcoming First-Draft 57 Editing Your 71 Fight for 87 THE Tongue .. 93 Getting it Out of Your Mouth for Air Force SpeakingThe Military 95 Verbal 97 Nonverbal Communication .. 99 Extemporaneous & Impromptu .. 103 The Meeting .. 105 The Phone 119 The Active 123 THE Quill .. 131 Speaking on Paper for Air Force WritingThe Official 133 The Personal Letter .. 135ivThe Indorsement 151 The In Turn Memo .. 155 The Memorandum for 157 The Background Paper .. 159 The Bullet Background Paper .. 161 The Position 167 The Staff Summary Sheet .. 169 The Talking Paper .. 173 The Short-Note 175 The Message.

5 177 The Staff 187 The Trip 197 The R sum .. 199 The AF Pub .. 211 THE COORDINATION 213 Basic Fundamentals for CoordinatingTHE MECHANICS OF 221 Desktop Reference Guide for Air Force WritingPunctuation Fluctuation .. 223 Abbreviating 257 Capitalization 263 Numbers, Numbers, Numbers .. 275 Research, Research, 281 THE 291 Alphabetical Arrangement of Topics17+(&21&(37 What it is .. communication that is!Communication is never having to say Huh? And so it begins .. whether it ends in confusion orclarity is up to us: the talkers, listeners, writersand readers. We make it all happen, andsometimes not at all the way we d like. Actually,it s impossible not to communicate.))

6 The onlyquestion is what s the message?The concept of human communications has beendiscussed for centuries. Millions of books andbillions of words describe and analyze the processand its impact. This section isn t a comprehensivesummary of all that s gone before ; it only offersa sinfully brief refresher on the basics. This entirebook has its roots wrapped around the question ofhow we communicate with each other and how toimprove that ,&$7,21 The Tongue and Quill2TO BEGIN WITH ..Nearly every book on communications gives at least a perfunctory bow to the critical importanceof the written or spoken word .. and even the unspoken signal! Some devote the first chaptersto saying human communication (and the intelligence behind it) is all that separates us from thelower forms of animal life.

7 What do you think? Ah .. Then we can dispense with at least 5,000words of ACT OR NOT TO ACT, THAT IS THE ..Why do we communicate? The answer is incredibly simple, yet overly creative authors andlecturers can fill books or hours with complex answers. If you burn all this well-intentionedmaterial down to its essential ash, you ll be left with the one word action. Human communication has no other purpose than to cause some kind of action: to direct,to inform, to question and to your hands up!The cat is s Emilia?I need a you think we communicate for some reason other than to stimulate overt or mental activity onthe part of a listener or reader? Throw your idea on a fire and watch it sizzle! Now how about Ah!

8 That s what I REALLY HAPPENS?Somewhere in the hypothetical stack of communications books is more on the mechanics of whathappens when we communicate. Scientific, sociological or technical jargon will blossom likeweeds in a melon patch: receptor, stimulus, symbols, information retrieval, transmit, end-coder,response, feedback. Those are all okay words if they eventually lead to the root of things wecannot not communicate. And when things don t go the way we plan, it can always be traced toa failure in either the mechanical part of the process ( She s hard of hearing ; I used unfamiliarwords ; etc) or the psychological part ( I disagreed with his pet idea he s furious ; She doesn tlike Italian food and I m cooking that for Saturday!)

9 And all of this is relevant only if it opensour eyes to why our communications sometimes go , FILTERS AND THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHTThe rest of this handbook is designed to help you remove the barriers and avoid the pitfalls thatthreaten us when we write, speak or listen to each other. (Skim through Nonjudgmental on page40.) Communications, whether in the form of an E-mail, 5-minute phone call or a 50-pagereport, can go haywire in part (or totally) for many reasons. I ll only cite a few > Communication3E RANK RESTRICTS US. Heading the list of barriers, especially for members of the AirForce, is military rank. Too many of us become Tongue -tied when communicating with thosesenior in rank, and cursory or impatient with those junior in rank.

10 This can really gum up thecommunicative machinery. We must constantly remind ourselves we are all communicativeequals and strive to be candid, direct and respectful with everyone. Don t allow rank to filter outimportant information. (See page 132 for some words of wisdom on how to write for a general.)F AIN T GOT NO PROBLUMS WITH MECHANIX AND LAYOUT. Searching foreducational scapegoats, on which to pin the sad tale of America s declining ability to write, speakand layout acceptable English, is fruitless. If you have a problem with our language, solve or formal course work is the only solution, and there are excellent books and coursesavailable. As a minimum, carefully examine The Mechanics of Writing section starting on page221.