In short, quite a lot  

When we write for you, most of the time we take what’s been asked of us from a full brief. There will be a point when you ask us to come up with one for you. And that’s good. We get to add some worth to the prose, and it keeps the mind in fine tune.  

Each piece will use facts, quote a source or two, and use what you send us to add to it. We’ll pass on our views to you, too, such as the dos and don’ts of how it should sound, or what not to say. It’s part of our role and we mean to do our job well. 

As a way to hone our craft, we look at books on style (quite a lot in fact). One such book I read a few weeks past talks of the need to make your point fast, by way of what the scribe who wrote it, terms ‘old’ and ‘short’ words.  

Short words are best 

This thought comes from a quote said by a man of great fame who ruled in a time of war (I’ll leave you to guess who that is) and it goes like this: ‘short words are best, and old words, when short are best of all.’ 

It made me think of why we use long words (or a buzz word or buzz phrase), since I feel we can use them too much. They are a mode to say what you want to say, in a way that’s clear and of good use from time to time. But if we make use of them a lot, they can kill what’s been said.  

To make your point, it can be wise to just say it as it is. Short words serve to sound crisp, clean or sharp. When you use them, it’s like when you try to catch a fish. You start with a hook and bait, then wait for the fish to bite and reel it in.  

Hook and bait 

It’s the same for the folk you want to reach. The short word is the hook and bait. And it helps those folk to grasp what you want to say at once. That paves the way for you to pull the line on that rod with the hope you’ll win their hearts and minds, should they read on.  

Each time we write, we check why we would want to use a long word or a buzz word when a short word will do. Long words don’t help to make you sound smart. In fact, they can turn off the rank and file you want to speak to.   

In short, when the facts are tough to glean, words that are not too long give a good gist of what you seek to say well. In our view though, it’s best to mix it up. Yes, use long words, but not too much or to show off. It might sound hard, but when you grow that skill, you will make your point with ease each time.   

 

The keen-eyed amongst you will have noticed what we did: no word in this blog is longer than one syllable, which was inspired by the book cited below. And if you didn’t manage to guess who came up with the quote above, it was Winston Churchill, hence the cryptic description. Using his name would have prevented the article from using only one-syllable words.  

A note on the quote: there are two extant versions of it. The one we have used seems to be the most quoted and cited in books. In both quotes, the point made is the same.

Writing with style, a new edition of The Economist style guide, by Lane Green