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​Step away from the thesaurus: big words don’t make you look smart

3/15/2016

20 Comments

 
Picture
http://imgur.com/gallery/R2rUEvW

Readers: Am I right? Wrong? Do bosses want big words? Please share your experience
!
 
“Sure, using regular everyday language is fine with my team, but with the partners, I have to use my ‘ten dollar words.’ You have to impress them.”

As a communications coach I hear statements like this all the time. “The ‘higher ups’ are smart; they expect complexity.”  One consultant even claimed recently, “Some clients just want to read all that fluff. They think it justifies why they are paying us.”


We can’t help it – school made us that way!
I’m pretty skeptical about those generalizations, but I get it. I studied for the AP test. No teacher ever asked me for the “most concise” paper possible. In school, we’re basically paid by the word, preferably multisyllabic ones.  By the time we graduate and go to work, we’re ready to unleash our well-stocked word-horde and augment it with our new job jargon.
But after years of working with professionals in every industry, I know that the VPs and partners of the world do not value big words or long sentences.  Imagine a senior partner at a major firm reading a report and complaining, “This document is so ^*$$%%!!…readable. It’s clear, I get to the point right away, and it’s easy to respond to. I am definitely going to fire whoever wrote it.”

That’s about as likely as the CEO promoting someone for writing the longest sentences in the company.

People at every level want one thing as readers: clarity
From the mailroom to the boardroom, we all want to understand a message clearly and quickly. Just because you’re a senior leader doesn’t mean that you develop a taste for complexity in communication, or that you want the challenge of deciphering a jargon-filled proposal.  In fact, at these higher levels, you probably have a more critical need for clear, direct language.


Research into “big word disease”
In 2005, Princeton Psych professor Daniel Oppenheimer conducted a fascinatingstudy  to see what readers really thought about documents filled with long words. Oppenheimer’s study, humorously entitled “Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly,” found that readers rated the authors of the “needlessly complex” documents as less intelligent than those of documents with simpler writing. By the way, that work won an Ignoble Prize that year, which recognizes research ”that makes people laugh and then think.”

Oppenheimer tells us that the people most likely to “pad” writing with big words are college students and those new to the work force. He found that  nearly 2/3 of the Stanford University students he studied admitted to using a thesaurus to find more complex words so that they could impress the professor with their intelligence.  

As a business writing instructor at Boston University and in the nation’s largest corporations, I know he’s right. It’s the people who are the least secure as writers that make their writing unnecessarily complex. In fact, several people in my corporate writing workshops have confessed that they added big words to their documents to raise their grade level of the Flesch Kincaid score in Microsoft Word. They all wanted to look more “educated” with their bosses.  


But none of this word bloat is necessary. Smart people, busy people, people with designer underwear, they all just want to get your point without working too hard to do it. Here’s a great tip for writing to them – and to everyone else: Just think of how you would explain something in spoken words to your reader, and try to stick as close to those natural words as possible. And try to avoid jargon too.  Sure, sometimes you have to use technical terms and complex sentences, but mostly you don’t. If you avoid needless complexity, you’ll be a better writer, and the senior people at your company will be grateful.

And for inspiration, think of the great John F, Kennedy
speech in which he said “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”

Notice how he doesn’t say, as Chip Heath and Dan Heath point out in their great book Made to Stick, “Our mission is to become the international leader in the space industry through maximum team-centered innovation and strategically targeted aerospace initiatives.” If he did say it that way, it’s unlikely there would have been "one small step for man... " 

So step away from the thesaurus and know that your boss, and your boss’s boss, don’t need your big words, they just need the right words, which are usually simple and direct. So the next time you need to go all “Recontextualizing”  and “operationalizing the forward initiative to gain agreeance,”  just stop! Think of how you would say the same thing in “human.”  And if you need a thesaurus, try a reverse thesaurus that finds you a smaller word version of your long word.  
I think you’ll find it’s a paradigm shift, whatever the heck that is.


20 Comments
Judy Feld link
3/19/2016 07:07:43 pm

Agreed! I wrote on a similar topic in my newsletter article: "Business Buzzword Bargain Basement and Cliché Clearance" (D-6), available at
http://www.coachnet.com/business/resources-articles.html

Reply
Cathy McNally link
3/19/2016 07:11:28 pm

Thanks for letting me know Judy, I look forward to reading it.
Cathy

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Carmen Fernandez
3/21/2016 12:23:34 pm

I work for a federal agency in Mexico. If you could read our memos and emails, you would weep. Sometimes I read them three times to understand what they mean. Spanish is beautiful and a romantic language, but in for business it can be very baroque.

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Cathy McNally link
3/24/2016 08:14:57 pm

Carmen, your comment was beautiful!(It almost made me weep!) Sounds like you spend a lot of extra time trying to decipher some things. You really should be able to read something once to understand it. At least in the workplace.

However when we read something wonderful like Don Quixote, we want to read more than once.

Thank you again for writing such a lovely comment.
Cathy

Reply
Anne Baille
3/22/2016 12:31:35 pm

Hi, that is fun and so true. Imagine the challenge for a non native english VP in a global company.... Do you have research on non US practices with big words ? Anne

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Cathy McNally link
3/24/2016 08:21:20 pm

Hi Anne,
thank you for your comment. I don't know about the differences in use of big words by country, but I have a feeling it may be a universal problem in the professional world. (At lease judging from the comments on my linked in post on the Harvard Business Review group.(https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3044917/3044917-6116027256860131328?trk=hp-feed-group-discussion)

I am very interested in the difference in workplace writing across different cultures. I want to reread "Culture Map" by Erin Meyer which had some interesting things to say about how to present info to different cultures. If you have any insights on the big word issue, I'd love to hear them.
thanks again for being part of the discussion.

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Nathalie Diaz
3/22/2016 01:19:09 pm

I sent a cover letter with a brief summary (mainly the conclusions), attaching a longer report to justify professional fees.

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Cathy McNally link
4/1/2016 07:24:26 pm

Nathalie, That makes a lot of sense!
Cathy

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Anne Omokhuale
3/24/2016 04:50:18 pm

Nice articles. in my opinion, researcher try to define cognitive reasoning from their window of though or research. Its important to read and understand papers or reports from its context in other words don’t read extra meaning ( its called creative thinking) to it because its not needed. Manager, VP, leader or lecturer should know that student, employee and people are bound to use vocabulary that is strong for the sake of learning let them pick a dictionary and check the meaning. Nobody need half baked leader leading a multinational organization.

Reply
John Coles
4/1/2016 05:20:58 pm

I definitely use Bullet Points in many of my communication. It seems the higher-up you go, the simpler you must communicate. I call it creating "Garanimal" presentations.

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Cathy McNally link
4/1/2016 07:25:57 pm

John, bullet points can work well. Thanks for your hilarious term for simple presentations - Garanimal! I might have to steal that one!
Cathy

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Norm Morris
4/1/2016 05:42:11 pm

Good article, and I definitely agree that when communicating in writing, especially when giving status on an issue, clarity is key.

However, I think the point on vocabulary is subjective though (that means it depends on the situation and individual interpretation; sorry for using a "big word!" ;-)). I've never browsed a Thesaurus looking for a more complex word, and I suspect that people that engage in that practice won't know the correct usage regardless. The problem with the one-size fits all condemnation (sorry, big word) of "big words" is that many in leadership are idiots, who have trouble reading and writing on an 8th Grade level, another reason (aside from the overtly {sorry, big word} political one of never going on record lest they have to take responsibility for something) that a lot of senior managers simply don't use email at all.

At one company meeting a few years ago, I used the big word "edict" in a sentence. As in, "The customer has issued an edict to sales that we address the problem or lose their business." My boss, who would certainly agree completely with your points regarding "big words" (assuming someone who was unfortunate enough to report to her read it to her, slowly), berated (sorry, big word) me for using a "fifty cent" word, and demanded to know what it meant. So, quickly, what's a 10-cent synonym (sorry, "big word there") for " edict?" Sometimes the best word is just the best word.

In any case, I told her it was really "e-dicked," which was a new term for an "electronic dictation," which she actually bought, and in front of the CEO, CFO, and SR. VP's to boot (priceless!), until one of the other senior managers filled her in later that day. The next day she cancelled my telecommuting schedule which had been in place for years. As I drove the extra 500 miles per month, I kept myself warm with the reality of her stupidity, and how nothing she could do to me would make that truth go away. (Yes, I know, I was a smart-ass, but someone had to do it...)

So, you are correct, and in addition to the excellent points about clear and concise written communication, the lesson is: don't use words that might make it evident to your boss that you could do his or her job better with your head in a bag. Noted! ;-). :-)

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Cathy McNally link
4/1/2016 07:30:23 pm

Norm,
Thank you so much for your great points and for that HILARIOUS story about "e-dicked," I will definitely be sharing that one - and of course will never hear the word "edict" again. totally agree that some people are idiots and some words like the ones you use are fine. You said it "Sometimes the best words are the best words."

It just occurred to me that your comment could be an April Fools joke, but no matter what - it's the best and that's my e-dicked!

Cathy

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Norm Morris
4/25/2016 02:49:14 pm

LOL! No, no April Fools joke there Cathy, I wish that were so; it actually happened. My take away from this article is that no matter what words you use, that the communication be as clear as possible. Believe it or not, if I can use HTML in my email editor (some shops don't allow it because of security issues), I'm a big fan of bolding, underlining, and even arrows on key points, and will invite the recipient to cut straight to those sections if they'd like to get a concise overview. That way they have the detail if they want it, or a quick synopsis of the issue if they don't, or just don't have the time. Best, Norm

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Olusiji Balogun link
4/2/2016 04:33:42 am

I served under the supervision of a PhD holder and a master in communication. Still under his tutelage I learnt that the simpler the better. Most attempt to pad your language in business communication may lead to been verbose. Most CEO's wants to read once and understand considering the volume of files waiting for their attention.

Reply
Cathy McNally link
4/2/2016 08:54:35 am

Olusiji, You said it! Most CEO's - and everyone else-want to read once! When you have to read 2 and 3 times, you know it could be simpler. Thank you for commenting.
Cathy

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Denise Dawkins
4/26/2016 08:19:15 pm

I really like this article. This is good article. I appreciate concise information especially when time is a limiting factor.

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Cathy McNally link
4/26/2016 09:03:34 pm

Norm, that is one fantastic story- which i have shared with several people. and agreed, visuals are a great - and underused strategy for clarity. thanks for your contribution!

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Cathy McNally link
4/26/2016 09:04:36 pm

Denise, thanks so much for your kind comment!
Cathy

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Ali Akhai
4/27/2016 02:41:10 am

I agree. This is the mindset of anyone right out of university. They spend more time on enhancing the complexity of the communication rather than focusing on the effectiveness of communication.

Reply



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