Today’s business professionals read a staggering amount of information. Tolerance for bloated, unclear messages is diminishing as rapidly as new technology offers up more and more opportunities to communicate. Professionals who want their messages to stand out avoid the mistake of trying to sound important and look for ways to simplify their messages and ideas.
Make Each Word Work
If a word doesn’t work, get rid of it. This will immediately eliminate often-used but unnecessary modifiers, such as very (as in very poor writing), really (as in really very poor writing), and certainly (as in certainly very poor writing).
Here are a few other examples. Not how much stronger the sentence sounds when the modifier is eliminated.
- Quite (I quite agree.)
- Rather (I was rather disappointed.)
- Indeed (We are indeed grateful.)
- Frankly (Frankly, I’m puzzled.)
- A bit (Sales were a bit off this quarter.)
- Overall (Overall, things are looking up.)
- Largely (My background is largely in export-import.)
- To be honest (To be honest, my opinion is that…)
Edit Ruthlessly
Look for every opportunity to eliminate unnecessary words and phrases. By doing so, sentences become sharper and clearer, reflecting a professional tone and clarity that will command attention and get results. Examples:
- Instead of: Enclosed herewith please find our proposal, which I am pleased to present. Try: I'm pleased to present our proposal.
- Instead of: It was certainly a pleasure speaking with you on the telephone today, especially so in learning of your plans regarding your forthcoming inspect trip to our plant facility. Try: We’re looking forward to your visit.
- Instead of: We believe the utilization of the proposed marketing strategy will result in an impressive quantity of profit generation for your company. Try: Our plan means profit for your company.
Avoid Buzzwords and Cliches
Nine times out of ten, they sound unimaginative—as with the introductory phrase of this sentence. Worse, they can sound pretentious. Some of the more popular ones to avoid include:
- Interface, as in, "I want you to interface with the finance department on this project." Computers interface, people don’t.
- Indicate. A verb often and unnecessarily used in place of “said,” as in, “Last time we we spoke, you indicated…”
- Appreciate, Hear. An attempt at super-managerial empathy, used instead of “understand” in sentences like, “I can appreciate what you’re saying,” or “I hear what you’re saying.” These words have become so over-used that they often signal to the reader that the writer neither appreciates nor understands.
- Tasked, as in, "I've been tasked to get this report out by Thursday." Task is a noun, not a verb. This similar to saying, "I've been goaled to get this report out by Thursday."
- Solution, as in, "So how did you solution that?" Another example of a noun being improperly used as a verb.
Use Short, Simple Words
In a 1909 speech on simplified spelling, Mark Twain said, “I never write 'metropolis' for seven cents because I can get the same price for 'city'; I never write 'policeman' because I can get the same money for 'cop.'" When you have a choice between two words that mean the same thing, always go for the more simple word.
- Total instead of aggregate
- Limits instead of parameters
- Broken instead of inoperable
- Building instead of facility
- Lied instead of misspoke
- Workable instead of viable
- Resume instead of qualifications brief
- Now instead of at this point in time
- Saw instead of observed
- Best instead of optimum or optimal
- Because instead of due to the fact that
- Before instead of prior to
Professionals who take the time and effort needed to simplify their message are often those who get the results they're looking for – faster and more efficiently,
See also
Think First For Better Business Writing
The A-B-C Approach to Better Business Writing
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