Tricky little things, aren’t they? Meant to make things quicker, they often cause confusion. To me, acronyms are a lot like nicknames for words. And nicknames can cause confusion too. They can be practically relationship-ending! Don’t believe me? Read on …
When I was 25 years old, I started dating a single father. What was I thinking? When I was 30 years old, I married him. Still not thinking, you think? Well, we’re still married, and happily, which means to me that thinking isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
Wondering what this story has to do with acronyms or nicknames? As our first date approached, I’d heard through the grapevine that he had three children. I figured I could handle it. But during the first couple of dates, we talked about his children, Jim, Rebekah, Miranda, and Mimi. With all these names floating around, I did some mental math and realized he had four children, not three. I’d accepted the fact that there were three children, but FOUR? It was just too much. So I decided I’d better reconsider dating him. Thankfully, I asked him how old they were and the conversation went something like this:
John: Jim is 11, Rebekah is 7, and Miranda is 3.
Me: So how old is Mimi?
John: 3.
Me: You have twins?!
John: What?
Right, ‘Mimi’ was Miranda’s nickname. There were only three children after all. We kept dating and five years later, we got married.
Acronyms, like nicknames, are meant to make things familiar, quick and easy, but it doesn’t always work.
A couple tips about acronyms:
1. When you use an acronym, define it the first time you use it. Then use the acronym going forward. If you use the acronym again on a subsequent page of a multi-page document, define it again.
Ex. The Ancaster Avalanche Girls Hockey Association (AAGHA) will hold rep tryouts in April 2014. Visit the AAGHA website for more information.
2. Don’t assume an acronym is common knowledge. Even in conversation, it’s helpful to use the full form, then state the acronym, and save your colleagues the embarrassment of having to ask for clarification.
More about acronyms in another post. I have a thing about acronyms. Can you tell?