Look for the Angel
By Helen Wilkie

Too many business letters, e-mails, reports and other written messages are ineffective because they are buried in fluff and redundancy.

Many a two-page letter or memo could be reduced to less than a page if we would just stop saying things like "in the majority of instances" when we mean "usually". Why do we say "as you may or may not know"? If you may know, then obviously you may not know. That's what "may" means! Why do we use wordy phrases like "of a confidential nature" instead of a perfectly good, serviceable adjective like "confidential"?

That's what I call fluff --— simply too many words.

A related problem is redundancy, which occurs when we unwittingly say the same thing twice. I read in a business letter, "We are trying to attempt a solution." Does that mean they tried twice as hard? What about "unexpected emergency"? Surely if we knew it was coming it wouldn't be an emergency. There are many examples of excellent words we have stolen from other languages --— and then ruined them by watering them down. For example, the French word "unique" doesn't mean "unusual" --— it means "one of a kind". A thing is not very unique, somewhat unique or rather unique. It's either unique or it's very unusual.

The problem with this piling on of unnecessary words is that it buries the message, leaving the reader either scrambling around looking for it --— or simply scanning the words and completely missing the point.

Dealing with this in a recently workshop, I was reminded of an old story about Michelangelo. Apparently someone asked the great artist how he managed to sculpt such beautiful angels from cold, hard marble. Michelangelo replied "I simply chip away at everything that's not angel, and eventually the angel emerges from the marble."

Take a close look at your business writing and look for everything that doesn't contribute to your message --— and then chip away at it until the message emerges.



Helen Wilkie is a professional keynote speaker, workshop leader and author specializing in applied communication in the workplace. Visit her website at http://www.mhwcom.com  Subscribe to Helen's free monthly e-zine, "Communi-keys", and get your free 40-page e-book, 23 ideas you can use RIGHT NOW to communicate and succeed in your business career!