Josh Bernoff of Harvard Business Review surveyed 547 businesspeople from January to March. About 81 percent of respondents agreed poorly written material wastes a significant amount of their time.
Mr. Bernoff found direct writing produces three positive, economic benefits to company workflow.
Increased productivity. Brief, simple emails that clearly describe what is going on, or what you need someone to do, elicit a more successful response in employees. Combing through lengthy, imprecise emails wastes employees time and can cause mistakes or inefficiencies to occur, said Mr. Bernoff. Write your emails with intention to drive productivity among management.
Better leadership. Clear writing, free of meaningless superlatives and industry jargon, inspires trust in both employees and customers. Workers that can understand, appreciate and relate to an organization’s core values feel connected to their workplace. Avoiding clichés and ambiguous phrasing in marketing materials will also prompt a more powerful response in potential customers, said Mr. Bernoff.
More effective outcomes. Clear writing that uses well-organized, active-voice sentences is more powerful than inexact or jargon-heavy writing, which can cloud or muddle your message.
Mr. Berhoff writes, “Requiring clear, direct, active language has two benefits. It forces writers to think through what they really mean and the arguments they can use to support it. And it makes smart people stand out. If you prize clarity, the clear thinkers will rise to the top.”
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