The Two Mistakes in Tone

Two errors in tone are pumposity and hybridism according to Stone and Bell. Pumposity would be something that is more too formal, whereas hybridism is where you are trying to impress the person. The following passage is an address given by a dean at an American university welcoming the freshman class. He presumably hopes that they will get a lot out of their work, but he doesn't say so. This formal double talk,. this reluctance to be simple and straightforward is the antithesis of communication. What sort of welcome or helpfulness is there in words like program and personalized education and learning experience? What kind of education isn't personalized? says Stonbel in 1968.