Think clearly, write clearly

Communication skills enhancement for professionals, managers and executives

The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.

Lee Iacocca

Ten Principles of Clear Writing

1. Have a clear goal and purpose for what you are writing and
    develop a structure and style that suits this purpose: you
    may wish to sell, persuade or inform but as a by-product
    you should also seek to engage, interest and involve the
    reader.

2. Analyse the reader’s needs and interests: ask yourself what
    is the most important information for THEM and tailor your
    content to match.

3. Start with the conclusion: a summary statement in advance
    sets expectations and helps the reader to understand what
    is required them. You can devote the rest of the writing
    supporting the conclusion or explaining it.

4. For longer documents, provide a one page overview up
    front:  include the most important information, key facts
    and arguments to help busy readers and to ensure that
    nothing of relevance is overlooked.

5. Answer the “unspoken question”: who, what, where,
    when, why and how questions related to the topic should
    all be answered – not necessarily in that order but sooner
    rather than later!

6.  Use clear, familiar words: thoughtful writers use language
     that is easy for the reader to decode and so avoid creating
     unnecessary communication barriers.

7.  Keep most sentences short and simple: too short is
     unsophisticated, and too long is complex so aim for a
     balance of between 15 and 20 words per sentence.  

8.  Generally, the active voice is better for verbs than the
     passive voice: the passive voice (“The plan must be
     approved.”) does not automatically answer the “by whom”
     question (“The committee should approve the plan.”).   

9.  Writing should be more precise than conversation:
     grammar, spelling, punctuation, avoidance of slang (in
     business writing), are ALL important – the reader will not
     forgive carelessness as they might in conversation. 

10. Revise thoroughly (and repeat the process): most
     documents benefit from careful attention to detail and
     re-reading from the reader’s perspective – review
     structure, sentence construction, spelling, grammar, tone
     and ease of understanding.

The Ten Principles of Clear Writing forms part of our programme: