One of the things I talk about a lot in my Business Writing Skills course is the use of plain English, but people are sometimes unsure what it means so in this post I’ll be describing why keeping your language plain and straightforward makes it twice as impactful as packing it with lots of big words.
Have a look at this and tell me if you understand it on the first reading:
Operationalising our plans to drive continuous improvement across the company’s basic retail disciplines, product sourcing, market planning, allocation and supply chain to forecast milestones;
Establishing a multi-channel programme to drive improvements in on-line capability, aligned to the in-store channel experience. Our second half like-for-like growth in multi-channel sales was 77 per cent compared to a first half of 15 per cent.
Ok, keep that bit of text in mind while I explain why language is important.
Because I’m trying to boost my audience for my business writing courses, I’ve joined a number of small business networking groups on Facebook. Very few of them are useful, but the UK Only Small Business Owners Network is active and full of helpful people posting useful comments and advice. But one post this week inspired me to write this article, and I hope the guy who posted it won’t mind me using it as a demonstration of what I mean when I say you should always stick to plain English.
In a nutshell, plain English means swapping out some of those big, important-sounding words we love to use to make our thoughts and writing seem impressive, and using much more basic language instead.
Here are some examples:
Adjacent to next to Ascertain find out Assistance help
Beverage drink Commence start Concluded ended Discontinue stop In conjunction with with Negotiations talks Sufficient enough Participate take part Prior to before Reside live Sever cut Stipulations rules Undertake a leadership role lead Take into consideration consider Take preventative measures against prevent or stop Those with management responsibilities managers
The bonus of using these more straightforward words – apart from the fact that everyone will understand what you’re saying – is that your writing will be shorter and more direct.
The fact is, when it comes to writing at work, most of us pick it up on the fly. No one ever trains us in how to write well. Mostly we learn from the style of our seniors and usually that means that bad writing habits get passed down through the organisation. Those senior employees also learned from their seniors and often they tended to use this ornate language which is no longer appropriate for modern audiences with their different approach to engaging with a brand.
People often think that they need to inflate their language for people to take them seriously. Actually it has the opposite effect. If you pack your writing with loads of complex words – like the piece I shared at the top - people will either struggle to understand what you’re trying to say, or they’ll think you’re using your language to hide a situation.
That example is from my course, and it’s the words of a CEO of a failing business writing an intro to the annual report and packing it with so much complex language it becomes impossible to work out what his plans are to save the business. Consequently no one invests and the business goes under.
In the course we compare if he had had the courage to write a more transparent introduction in plain English, clearly laying out his plans for change, and how doing so would have been much more likely to attract investors.
I’ve trained a lot of people in the public sector and it’s especially important to use plain English there because any hint that you’re not being completely transparent will raise red flags to your audience of local taxpayers and potentially the local press.
Anyway, here’s a section of that post I mentioned before, which was added in the business owners Facebook group:
With the rise of the digital marketplace failing to use effective tools that platform model a business or asset portfolio to get your word out to both the buyer and the seller in certain circumstances dependant on the operations could be critical, some may wish to avoid social media yet without it, it will eradicate and dilute a fast flowing income stream & the ability to optimise a cash flow strategies and ultimately your business.
Try reading that out loud. If you can get to the end without drawing breath that’s quite impressive, and yet that is one – very long – sentence of 75 words. (Quick tip: 20 is plenty is a useful rule of thumb for most business writing.)
Ignoring the lack of, and poorly placed commas, the stream of more complicated words make it quite hard to understand what this guy’s advice is. Which is a shame because I’m sure he knows what he’s talking about.
I speculated that instead he could have written something like this:
As more people buy online, a savvy owner will make use of the tools and apps that best showcase their business, helping them effectively reach their audience. Social media can be a tricky beast to tame, but doing so will help your business become dynamic and capable of rapid reaction to fast-moving events.
Can you see why plain English makes for more efficient and impactful writing?
I’ll leave it there with the simple advice that if you’re reading your business writing and finding it has lots of these big words, try swapping some out for simpler language and I guarantee it will become more readable, engaging and impactful. And of course if you want loads of advice – and a free style guide – to make your writing better, do sign up for my Business Writing Skills course.
And finally, just because talking about plain English always make me think of this sketch...