Avoid Clumsy Phrases, Complex Vocabulary, and Stiff Language
Competencies
This lesson teaches the following competencies:
Use simple, straightforward words.
Avoid bureaucratic, business-eze words
Avoid stilted, complex words
Use common vocabulary
Use positive words and phrases
Lesson Summary
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Introduction
Depending
on your field and position, you may need to use technical language and jargon when you communicate with other specialists. The technical language makes it easier for you to communicate when the readers know the language.
However, you should refrain from using technical jargon and difficult words when you are not sure the reader will understand them.
This lesson explains how you can communicate without these clumsy phrases, complex vocabulary, and stiff phrases.
Use Simple, Straightforward Words
Always
use simple,
straightforward words rather than complex words. Below is a list of some of the complex words and phrases business people use that have simple alternatives. Use the simple words to convey your meaning.
INSTEAD
OF
WRITE
accelerated
sped up
preceding
year
last year
ascertain
find out, learn
Exercise:
Condensing Phrases
Condense the following
phrases to their essence. You need only one word for each.
Phrases
Answers
1.
in light of the fact that
2.
on the occasion of
3.
at this point in time
4.
on the grounds that
Avoid
Stilted, Bureaucrat Words
Some words first used
in business decades or centuries ago have been replaced by the simple alternative
English words. They still hang around, though.
Use today's language. If you wouldn't say it, don't write it. Avoid these words:
INSTEAD
OF
WRITE
as
per your letter
in your letter
yours
of the 10th
your letter
of December 10
awaiting
your reply, we are
no alternative,
just omit
in
due course
today, tomorrow,
next week
permit
me to say that
no alternative,
just omit
we
are in receipt of
we received
Exercise:
Avoiding Stilted Words
Practice getting
to the point by matching the stilted words in the left column with their
everyday language equivalent in the right column:
Phrases
Answers
1.
for the duration of
2.
in the interest of
3.
contiguous to
4.
by means of
Use
Positive Words and Phrases
You usually have your
choice of dozens of words you could use to communicate your meaning. Choose
those that are more positive. Begin instructions with "We recommend"
or "We've found." Use words such as "help," "satisfy,"
"provide," "try," "good," "effective,"
and the hundreds of other positive words.
Some words and phrases
set a negative tone automatically, regardless of what you may be writing
in the rest of the message. Avoid the following:
Some words first used
in business decades or centuries ago have been replaced by the simple alternative
English words. They still hang around, though.
"Under separate cover," for example, was first used in the fourteenth century when there were no envelopes. Writers wrapped an outside cover of paper around a document and secured it with sealing wax and a ribbon. But we're still writing about these paper covers in the twenty-first century!
Remember, if you wouldn't
say it, don't write it. Avoid these words:
INSTEAD
OF
WRITE
as
per your letter
in your letter
yours
of the 10th
your letter
of December 10
awaiting
your reply, we are
no alternative,
just omit
in
due course
today, tomorrow,
next week
permit
me to say that
no alternative,
just omit
we
are in receipt of
we received
pursuant
to
no alternative,
just omit
in
closing
no alternative,
just omit
attached
herewith
here is
the
undersigned
we, I
kindly
advise
let us know
under
separate cover
in another envelope
we
wish to inform you
no alternative,
just omit
attached
please find
enclosed is
it
has come to my attention
I have just
learned
please
be advised that
no alternative,
just omit
Exercise:
Avoiding Stilted Words
Practice getting
to the point by matching the stilted words in the left column with their
everyday language equivalent in the right column:
Phrases
Answers
1.
for the duration of
2.
in the interest of
3.
contiguous to
4.
by means of
5.
at the present time
6.
for the reason that
7.
adequate number of
8.
subsequent to
9.
notwithstanding the fact that
10.
prior to
Exercise:
Rewriting Stilted Text
Rewrite this sentence eliminating the stilted business bureaucrat words:
In due course,
after a thorough investigation, I determined that we were in receipt
of your software order, and permit me to say that we were in obligation
to deliver it with haste and will follow through with due diligence,
but the volume of requests has caught us unawares, creating a condition
of insufficient inventory for demand.
Exercise:
Eliminating Stilted Words Without Losing Meaning
Eliminate the stilted,
bureaucratic words while conveying the same meaning:
As per your
email of 10 January, we wish to inform you that it is our intention
to alter the user interface such that it will have ease of use in
greater measure than you may have experienced at the present moment.
Exercise:Using Common Vocabulary
Write a common word
beside each of the following words.
Phrases
Answers
1.
attempt
2.
purchase
3.
request
4.
terminate
5.
instruct
6.
encounter
7.
commence
8.
rectify
Use
Positive Words and Phrases
You usually have your
choice of dozens of words you could use to communicate your meaning. Choose
those that are more positive. Begin instructions with "We recommend"
or "We've found." Use words such as "help," "satisfy,"
"provide," "try," "good," "effective,"
and the hundreds of other positive words.
Some words and phrases
set a negative tone automatically, regardless of what you may be writing
in the rest of the message. Avoid the following: