This three-part series explains clearer project communication to achieve desired outcomes
All project communication – from routine minutes and status updates, to business cases, funding requests, and board papers – must be clear, concise, and easy to read.
Poor project writing kills decision-making and productivity. It damages personal, team, and organisation reputations. And it frustrates and alienates readers.
A 2020 Ohio State University study is a wake-up call for plain language in business.
Study lead Hillary Shulman says the use of difficult, specialised words sends a signal that people don’t belong. Providing explanations isn’t the solution to making complex writing easier to understand.
“What we found is that giving people definitions didn’t matter at all – it had no effect on how difficult they thought the reading was,” Dr Shulman says.
Bottom line – jargon and heavy-going language disempowers and dissuades.
“When you have a difficult time processing the jargon, you start to counter-argue,” Dr Shulman says.
“You don’t like what you’re reading. But when it is easier to read, you are more persuaded and
you’re more likely to support.”
Plain language doesn’t mean your content is plain
Some think “plain” equals “boring”. Wrong.
Plain language doesn’t dumb down your project messages. It opens them up to a broader audience.
Promote plain language in your writing with these tips.
Make verbs prominent
The over-reliance of meaningless nouns in project writing is, according to the author and speechwriter, Don Watson, the “dry rot of language”¹.
So, what are examples of meaningless nouns?
Here are some from our recent work with project managers.
In lesson 1 of this series, we explained the concept of active language and showed ways to make headings, subheadings, and sentences more engaging. Include verbs in your writing to make your messages more action-oriented.
Read your drafts aloud, too. It’s the quickest way to detect passive and clunky language.
Be concise
Project decision makers and influencers are time poor. They want to make informed decisions based on the minimum number of words. Not the maximum.
Here’s a recent example of a wafflng project sentence and its edited version.
Cut redundant words and your message is clear and easier to act on.
Other practices for being concise are:
stick to one idea per sentence with no more than 20 words
limit to four sentences or fewer per paragraph.
Writing about your project in plain language will increase the likelihood of people reading your messages and taking the action you desire.
School and post-school education encourage people to overwrite and adopt a passive style. That's a failure in business and project communication.
Business writing must ensure outcomes. Our online training and coaching programs help people achieve clear, concise, and outcome-focused writing. More information here.
1. Don Watson, Watsonia: A Writing Life (Collingwood: Black Inc 2020), 392.