This message from Bethany Leone, managing editor at Heat Treat Today, shares some thoughts on the power of words and most importantly, the power of voice behind the words.
This article first appeared in September 2023's People of Heat Treat print edition. Feel free to contact Bethany Leone at bethany@heattreattoday.com if you have a question, comment, or any editorial contribution you’d like to submit.
Managing Editor
Heat Treat Today
This past year, I had the honor of digitally transcribing someone’s personal writings. A culmination of spontaneous recollections, the author sought to make copies to better share this memory diary with her family.
The histories of cultural celebrations, professional successes, and childhood joy intermingled with stories of grief and personal poetry. Cursive writing enclosed each of these stories in the most beautiful gift wrapping for her loved ones.
However, the author — an accomplished writer in her own right — wanted the transcription to be edited. In keeping it a transcript (of a personal nature, no less) and following orders to clean up the original, I faced a dilemma: How does one preserve voice?
This may sound easy, and in many cases, the answer is simple. For unclear text, adjust punctuation. For spelling or grammar oversights, edit! And, of course confirm the timeline and the spelling of personal names or companies with the original author. These are all edits that ensure the correct information is preserved.
But so many times in editing the personal voice of this transcript, the decisions were gray; sometimes, the facts that were written could not even be confirmed.
So, what to do? Ultimately, only one option satisfied the need to balance edits for clarity against preservation of voice: I looked to the heart of the author behind her words. This intelligent, loving, storytelling, and sometimes still grieving woman needed to be heard through her words. Thus edit I did, but not everything.
Coming from an editor, the notion that “words are not everything” may be surprising, though I hope, comforting. When we hear the words of others, there is clarity and meaning in the articulation, and perhaps even some superficial qualities that come through — an accent, for example. Yet to truly understand the voice of an author or speaker — that is, the style, manner, and intention of their words — we must seek to hear the heart behind the words.
Looking to Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2023, we can begin to hear the heart of the people behind the words that they will speak as they rise into leadership positions across North America’s heat treat industry. You will see the acts of service, the care for the well-being of others, and the humility behind many of the winners when you turn to page 28 and meet this year’s class.
This year, we are also grateful to have the words of others in this magazine that encourage and inspire the next generation to use their voices wisely and effectively. Explore the Words of Encouragement from industry leaders, the personal stories in the “Women’s Roundtable: Leadership in Heat Treat," the forward-looking leadership and brain drain columns, and more for insightful messages.
In person, we get to connect even more and see the heart behind the words even more clearly. Heat Treat Today has a tradition of meeting new members of 40 Under 40 at the annual heat treat tradeshow. So, this year in Detroit, the current class and any available 40 Under 40 alums will gather at Heat Treat Today’s booth to receive a quick in-person recognition and send-off. If you are at the show, I hope to see you and, perhaps more importantly, hear your heart behind the words.
