What is often termed Business English has become little more than dead code, a lacklustre collection of weak and overused phrases stretched unevenly across an unimaginative vocabulary.
The problem is that most corporate communications has become an unintelligible, inchoate hybrid of imprecise word associations that are deliberately vague or misleading. It’s a different language to the one we speak at home or socially.
It doesn’t have to be like this. Business language everywhere can be better. It can be memorable and lasting, impressive and striking. It can be simple, clear, expressive, descriptive. It all depends on the words you choose and which other words you choose to put them next to. And such words are infinitely powerful through association and renewal.
If we can choose the right words, and add clarity, elegance and simplicity to what we want to say, then our language, our message, article, text or press release, will become effective, deserve attention, and win respect.
Look for the right words and phrases not in political speeches, company reports, and PR, but in creative literature, poetry, prose, and fiction.
Use these words in your work, and people will respond in the way they respond to great poems, stories, and plays; with gratitude and even respect. They will remember you and your company or campaign if you make yourself memorable and stand out.
After all, writing is not just for writers. It is a genuine act of self-expression which can be taught. Every person alive has a story worth telling, an opinion worth sharing, and something that only they can authentically say.
The trouble is that many of us were not encouraged at school to express ourselves. But self-expression through writing is an all-round win-win. It’s good and right for your mental health, your self-confidence, and your brain.
I am developing an online creative writing programme along these lines entitled GET RIGHTING! It will be available from mid-September free for a few months to all who want to follow it. There will also be a GET RIGHTING! meeting in Uckfield in the autumn. We are going to start by writing haikus…
Register your interest at https://getrighting.com