Choosing Words Carefully

The Art of Conciseness: 5 Ways to Master Brevity

less is more

In today’s whirlwind business environment, concise communication is crucial. With emails, reports, and memos flooding inboxes daily, the ability to streamline your business writing can ensure that you are the person whose messages are read and understood. Conciseness saves time for the reader, although it might require the writer to apply more little grey cells. As 18th-century British lexicographer Samuel Johnson wrote, “Easy reading is hard writing.” Here are some strategies to help you master the art of brevity in your business writing.

First, embrace the principle that less is more. Instead of padding your sentences with unnecessary words or phrases, aim to be brief. Words like “just,” “very,” and “most” are often unnecessary, as are many adjectives and adverbs. Shorter emails and documents are easier to read and require less time and effort from the reader. In an age of endless inputs, it pays to streamline the reader’s experience.

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How ChatGPT Can Rescue You From Writer’s Block

overcome writer's block

Feel free to use generative A.I. for what it’s good for — brainstorming, rough drafting, and proofreading — but keep your hand on the tiller at all times. This technology can rescue you from writer’s block, but it will not save your neck if you give it insufficient or inadequate prompts and check all the facts it provides. In a way, that’s good news: If your input is still necessary, the robots have not yet taken over the world.

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Inclusive Communication Builds Both People and Profits

We live in an age of great sensitivity to language–some might even say hyper-sensitivity. While being too “politically correct” might cause some people to roll their eyes, you ignore individual sensitivities at your peril. Words referring to gender, race, creed, sexual orientation, physical ability, mental health, gender identity, and the like have the potential to make some people feel excluded–and that is the last thing we should want to do. No one can write a list of words you can and cannot use because each audience has its own sensitivities. Nevertheless, here are a few principles to remember.

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