When a major tech company announced its “workforce optimization initiative” last year, employees had to wade through three paragraphs of corporate language before understanding the simple truth: Layoffs were coming.

This kind of obscure writing, which writer George Orwell critiqued in his landmark 1946 essay, “Politics and the English Language” leads to costly misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and lost productivity in businesses. Perhaps more importantly, using euphemisms, corporate-speak, and vague language can lead both employees and customers to distrust your words.

Orwell, known for novels such as “1984” and “Animal Farm,” analyzed in his essay how language was being used to hide uncomfortable realities from the public. His insights resonate powerfully today when political language still obscures truth. For example, “alternative facts” replace “lies,” and “election integrity measures” can mask voting restrictions. In business, where ”workforce optimization” softens the impact of layoffs and “revenue enhancement” replaces “price increase.” When language becomes corrupted, Orwell argued, clear thinking becomes impossible, a warning that matters especially in business communication. From earnings reports to internal memos, corporate communication often prioritizes style over substance, and vagueness over clarity.

If you have read a corporate report recently, you probably know what kind of writing Orwell was describing. The same problems he identified in political writing plague business communication: overused metaphors, pretentious language, excessive jargon, and writing that conceals rather than reveals meaning.

Dying Metaphors

Metaphors compare one thing to another to make a point. A fresh metaphor works because it creates a vivid mental picture that illuminates meaning. But when a metaphor is used thousands of times, it loses this power and becomes mere jargon. “Low-hanging fruit” has become a tired shorthand for quick wins. “Moving the needle” rarely makes anyone visualize an actual gauge anymore. Other deadened business metaphors include “raise the bar,” and “hit the ground running.” All signal lazy writing.

Pretentious Diction

Too many business writers labor under the false impression that using lots of long words makes them seem smarter and more professional. The opposite is true. Using “facilitate a discussion” instead of “lead a meeting,” “has the capability to” instead of ”can,” or “prior to the commencement of” instead of “before” makes your writing seem hard to read. Peppering your emails with unnecessarily complex phrases makes your readers skip over your message or dismiss it as too demanding to read. Writing clearly and succinctly gives others the sense that you are capable and bright.

Meaningless Words

Anyone who has worked in a corporation sees meaningless words every day. “Proceed with the implementation” replaces “begin”; “notwithstanding the foregoing” replaces “however.” “Downsizing” replaces “layoffs.” These obfuscations slow readers down and confuse them through their vagueness.

These habits are so common that one wonders how people feel they benefit from using them. Perhaps they fear that others will be upset by their message — but readers will be more upset when they have to wade through vague verbiage to figure out what you mean. It’s helpful to turn to Orwell for wisdom. “What is above all needed,” he writes, “is to let the meaning choose the word, and not the other way about.”

His six rules for writers were:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print. In other words, avoid clichéd expressions like “think outside the box.”
2. Never use a long word when a short one will do. “Use” works better than “utilize.”
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. Instead of “at this point in time” write “now.”
4. Never use the passive voice where you can use the active. Write: “The team missed the deadline” rather than “The deadline was missed by the team.”
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Replace “vis-a-vis” with “regarding,” “raison d’être” with “purpose,” or “quantum leap” with “big change.”
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Orwell warned that murky political language was designed to hide the truth. The same applies to business writing. When we strip away the fog of jargon and pretense and say what we mean, our words gain an air of authenticity and vigor —and our messages are clear.

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What does a man born in 384 BCE have to teach the modern writer? A lot. When I teach persuasive writing, participants are often amazed to learn that Aristotle, the Greek philosopher who taught the world about everything from chemistry to metaphysics, also contributed mightily to the study of rhetoric. Rhetoric is using language effectively and persuasively. And in this, Aristotle’s philosophy is as relevant today as it was 2,000 years ago.

Aristotle taught his students the art of persuasion. Today’s business people use persuasion daily. Managers must persuade employees to follow through on projects, entrepreneurs convince investors to fund their start-ups and sales professionals persuade prospects to buy. In short, the ability to persuade is a core element of business success.

Aristotle identified three possible approaches to persuasive arguments:

1. Ethos: The credibility of the speaker or author.
2. Pathos: The power of feelings and stories.
3. Logos: The power of logic and reason.

Each approach has strengths. When choosing which one to emphasize, analyzing your audience is key. Which approach is most likely to motivate your particular reader or readers in your specific situation?

Here’s a summary of Aristotle’s categories with suggestions for using them.

Ethos

Ethos is an appeal to the authority of the speaker. When you use ethos to persuade, your readers feel they can trust you. You can rely on ethos if you have outstanding professional credentials or hold advanced degrees. You can also use ethos if you have extensive experience in your field.

To build your ethos appeal, make yourself look and sound professional and unbiased. Use vocabulary that suits your station (not using overly informal language in a high-stakes business setting, for example). Introduce your expertise or experience. And please, use correct grammar and punctuation. Grammatical errors undermine your authority.

For example, if you want to sell data protection services to a prospect, you can choose which mode to emphasize. For an ethos appeal to the person who believes in buying a strong brand or industry leader, you could write:

“Our company has been in business for 25 years and has won numerous awards. Our team members come from the top universities in the world and are carefully selected for their technical acumen and integrity.”

That might work.

However, switch your approach to pathos if you want to make your readers’ hearts thump.

Pathos

Appealing to pathos means appealing to the heart. Every decision contains an element of emotion, so touch on your reader’s feelings with all your arguments.

To highlight your pathos appeal, make sure your tone matches your persuasive goal. You may be upbeat or depressing, depending on your circumstances. In addition, tell stories of emotional events–happy or sad. Your stories should match the way you want your readers to feel. Finally, paint a picture of the future with descriptive action words and vivid images.

If you know your prospect has recently had a close call with a data breach or if you have spoken to them and they have expressed anxiety about security, you might emphasize pathos like this:

“Data breaches cause devastating losses that may be impossible to repair. Your customers trust you with their personal data, and your reputation will suffer if a bad actor gains access to your network. We can help you avoid the specter of widespread data loss.”

While it’s true that people rely partially on pathos for persuasion, the argument must, in the end, make sense. Hence, logos.

Logos

Logos is an appeal to reason or logic. Business decisions must be rational; that’s why all business communications contain a dose of logos. Logos uses cold arguments -; facts, statistics, data, common sense -; to convince people rather than trying to appeal to their emotions.

If you want to score points on a logos argument, cite facts and statistics. Construct clear, logical arguments. Use sophisticated language, but never obfuscate. Stay concise and to the point. In the right circumstances, you can apply analogies.

For a logos argument to sell your data protection service, you might write:

“Nearly 60 percent of businesses suffered a data breach during the past three years. According to research by IBM, the average cost of a data breach is $9.44 million. Our firm has prevented 359 data breaches over the past three years. We can help you protect your data.”

You can see that the three-part persuasive model is still relevant today. Any of Aristotle’s persuasive approaches might work, depending on the audience. That’s why analyzing your reader is the first job of the persuasive writer.

Whether you choose to apply ethos, pathos or logos, think about your greatest persuasive strengths before you write. Perhaps your personal authority is the magic charm. Or maybe the knockout story of how your company saved the day for another client. And sometimes, your reader will want just the facts. Do your homework so you know enough about your reader to determine which approach is likely to succeed.

By identifying your mode of persuasion in advance, you strengthen your arguments and ultimately persuade your readers more forcefully.

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