Business Writing: The Importance of Clarity

It is not enough to write so that you can be understood; you must write so clearly that you cannot be misunderstood." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Has there been a time where you were at a bar and asked someone what he or she does, and was overwhelmed with a with a 20 minute explanation you didn’t really understand or care about? Business writing can also smother your audience with an exhausting amount of information that is usually unnecessary or jargon they just don’t understand.

Using as much precise information as possible in business writing generates reader confidence in not only you but your product and what you have to say.

To get a better understanding yourself to what message you want to convey before you start any form of written communication, you really should be answering the following questions:

• What are you writing about?
• Why are you writing about it?
• Why is it important that your readers know about this?

Once you have the answers, phrase them in a way your readers can understand. Don’t forget to leave out the jargon! It’s important to simplify your information without dumbing it down. Know your audience and establish if it is suitable to use technical terms.

A great technique in assessing whether your work flows well is by reading your work out loud. It may seem like a tedious task! However, reading aloud really does brings a fresh perspective to what you want to say. Does it sound conversational? Are you actually speaking to your audience, or are you talking at them?

The purpose of any written document is to convey information to the reader. If the reader is confused by then the document, then it has not served its purpose. A document, whether it be a project brief, a flyer, web copy or a customer letter that is unclear could have dramatic consequences.

Remember to take some time in knowing your audience better by understanding their needs, what it is you want to say, working out the best possible delivery and whether or not this information is useful to your readers.

Simplicity is the key to clarity. Clarity is the prescription to boredom!