(With apologies to all grandmas who can already suck eggs)

Get to the point.

People are busy. Unless you are writing a florid intro for your forthcoming novel, you need to quickly get to the point and say what you want to say, clearly and concisely. Don’t say ‘there are a variety of ways to write an article’ just jump straight in and spell out what they are, clearly and concisely. And in that spirit, onto the next point …

No screamers or superlatives.

Again, unless you are writing a book, cut down on adverbs and adjectives and cut out the exclamation marks. Don’t say ‘We have just launched our amazing unique stunning new product!’ just say why it is stunning, amazing and unique. It is far more convincing to explain something than to hang an awesome, fantastic, super-duper adjective on to your noun.  And those screamers really don’t make your writing better! It just looks like you are not convinced by your own words!

Don’t be a business fashion victim.

A few years ago, we were all behind the curve and being impacted by the elephant in the room. Anybody who was anybody was inevitably going forward. Today I’m going to call it out – we are all reaching out and pushing back while nonetheless still engaging with everything and everyone.
It might be OK to slip into a bit of business ‘bs’ during a meeting, but it just looks lame on the page and dates very quickly. Try and use words and phrases that are both timeless and comprehensible to the general public.

Don’t be part of an in-group.

Organisation or industry jargon are inescapable. You and your group know what a particular term means but outsiders don’t. If you must use an industry- or organisation-specific term, at least explain it, so that those that haven’t got the memo have the chance to know what you are talking about. If you are in marketing, you probably know what ‘top of the funnel’ marketing is. If you’re not, you may wonder what sort of marketing goes on in a funnel, and which way up to hold it. Using such terms without explanation does not help people to understand what you want to say.

Avoid clichés.

Don’t think that adding in a well-worn cliché will make you sound like a proper writer. Quite the opposite. If you are ‘snatching victory from the jaws of defeat’ or indeed ‘snatching defeat from the jaws of victory’ you are simply announcing that you haven’t got an original way of expressing yourself. Please don’t say something ‘just got interesting’ as it means your writing may have perhaps ‘just got boring’.