> Agencies don’t hire writers just because they know the rules of grammar. We hire them because they’re eloquent, lucid, imaginative wordsmiths. We hire them because of their practised ability to lovingly craft words into things that work. Things that make people feel.
Agreed, I've noticed this type of signaling often in the hospitality industry. I'd compare it to a DSL with which a leader can communicate unobtrusively with those they lead. In certain cases it takes more time and effort to communicate information or instructions verbally, and it's more noticeable.
It's likely everyone you interview knows nothing about it, so it isolates logic and reasoning skills from previous knowledge. The accuracy isn't important.
Starz was breaking new ground for cable tv content providers. Now they decide to return to the stone age? Of course their internal numbers might tell a different story, but this still seems shortsighted.
I'm also shy. I don't know of any instruction manuals, but I'll offer a tip. When you go to the next hacker meetup, sit down next to someone and immediately introduce yourself. Maybe that's the end of the conversation, maybe it's just the beginning, but forcing yourself to verbalize with someone at the start of the event will make it easier from then on. It's also likely that the person you sit next to is just as shy as you and me.