Business Writing Tips
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Click Here for the October 2009 Issue
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You’re preparing to write a [report/email/article/other]. You want people to read it, understand it, and act on it. How can you make that happen?
There are a number of tips that can change your writing from confusing to clear, from mundane to motivating. This is the first of several columns telling you how to accomplish that.
Tip # 1 – Use simple words and sentences
Some writers seek to impress people by using long, complex or obscure words. This makes their writing sound…as if they’re trying to impress people. Keep it simple. If a short word will be as clear as a long word, use the short word. It will be easier for the readers to understand.
C.S. Lewis, professor at Oxford and Cambridge and best-selling author once said, “I have come to the conclusion that if you cannot translate your own thoughts into uneducated language, then your thoughts are confused. Power to translate is the test of having really understood your own meaning.” Lofty language is sometimes a smokescreen for fuzzy thinking. Distilling your ideas into simple language is a good way to test them for soundness.
In the same way, avoid overly-long sentences. A good rule: if you get to the end of a sentence and have to re-read it because you can’t understand it, it’s too long. Trim excess words; bloated sentences are tedious. If it’s still too long, see if you can divide it. Don’t chop up everything, however, or it will read like Dr. Seuss. A mixture of short and long sentences will create a varied, engaging rhythm.
Tip # 2 – Use Jargon Appropriately
Jargon is a special language used by a specific group, often for the purpose of streamlining communication. Terms such as “pharma,” “BRB,” “HIPAA,” and “Anat-Chem” are examples of jargon which you may use here at the SOM. In fact, to write out the words in full would seem almost awkward unless it is for a formal communication.
We cause confusion, however, when we use jargon with people who don’t “know the language.” In that situation, one alternative is to avoid jargon altogether. Another is to state the entire word or phrase with the abbreviation or definition in parenthesis beside it the first time you use it in a communication, then use just the jargon for the rest of the communication. For example, if writing for an audience outside of Penn, you might write “I work at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (SOM). The SOM was the country’s first medical school.” This defines “SOM” for those unfamiliar with this acronym, and allows you to use just the acronym for the rest of the communication.
Tip # 3 -Use Active Voice (except in limited situations)
What is the difference between active and passive voice? See if you can guess from these examples:
Passive: “The boat was sailed across Lake Winnipesaukee.” Who sailed it?
Passive: “The boat was sailed across Lake Winnipesaukee by Bob.” Bob sailed it, but in this sentence the boat receives the emphasis.
Active: “Bob sailed the boat across Lake Winnipesaukee.” Bob sailed it, and Bob receives the emphasis.
Passive voice exists when we emphasize the receiver of an action and de-emphasize or ignore the doer of the action.
Why is using active voice important? For one thing, passive voice is vague. In the first example, we have no mental picture of the sailor(s), since we don’t know their identity. In the second example, although we know the sailor’s identity, the sentence is now unnecessarily longer by two words. Fuzzy imagery and bloated sentences bore readers and cause them to disengage. On the contrary, active voice can make sentences vivid, direct and specific, engaging the reader.
So use active voice as a rule. Use passive voice only in instances where the doer of the action is negligible, unknown or obvious. If you are writing a history of the boat mentioned above and you do not know who sailed it across the lake, or if the sailor’s identity would be an unnecessary detail that would bog down the flow of the narrative, you may choose to use passive voice.
Note: Scientific writing often uses passive voice, although there are some journals which prefer active voice.
Using active voice, simple words and sentences, and using jargon in an appropriate manner will collectively make your writing more readable, understandable and compelling. The next issue of SOM@Work will explain how word pictures can help readers connect intellectually and emotionally with your information.
How well do you know SOM jargon? Test your knowledge:
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Also in the October 2009 issue
Develop Your Staff’s (or Your) Leadership Skills
LeadingSuccess™ and Supervisory Skills Certificate Graduations
New Resources for Hiring and On-boarding New Staff
Knowledge Link Help Desk
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