Author Topic: A clarion call for simplicity in written communication  (Read 3958 times)

Joe Carillo

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A clarion call for simplicity in written communication
« on: June 09, 2011, 08:31:21 AM »
A friend, Charlie Agatep of the PR and advertising agency Agatep Associates in the Philippines, is sharing with Forum members the following e-mail he sent to the agency’s writers:

Dear All,

We’ve always said that Euro RSCG Agatep* is a university. We create a community of learning among our employees and our clients. We strive to do better tomorrow than we are doing today.

As part of our learning, I’d like to quote writer William Zinsser on the value of simplicity in written communication. He said:

“Clutter is the disease of... writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon.

“Our national tendency is to inflate and thereby sound important. The airline pilot who announces that he is presently anticipating experiencing considerable precipitation wouldn’t think of saying... ‘it may rain.’

“BUT THE SECRET OF GOOD WRITING IS TO STRIP EVERY SENTENCE TO ITS CLEANEST COMPONENTS. EVERY WORD THAT SERVES NO FUNCTION, EVERY LONG WORD THAT COULD BE A SHORT WORD, EVERY ADVERB THAT CARRIES THE SAME MEANING THAT’S ALREADY IN THE VERB, EVERY PASSIVE CONSTRUCTION THAT LEAVES THE READER UNSURE OF WHO IS DOING WHAT... THESE ARE THE THOUSAND AND ONE ADULTERANTS THAT WEAKEN THE STRENGTH OF A SENTENCE.

“Simplify, simplify. Thoreau said it, as we are so often reminded, and no American writer more consistently practiced what he preached. In his book, Walden, Thoreau said:

“‘I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not,  when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.’”

Zinsser continues:

“Writers must therefore constantly ask: what am I trying to say? Surprisingly they don’t know. Then they must look at what they have written and ask: have I said it? Is it clear to someone encountering the subject for the first time?

“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it is because it is hard.”

Thank you for your precious time.

Charlie A. Agatep

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*Euro RSCG Agatep PR (Agatep Associates Inc.) is an integrated marketing communications company specializing in strategic PR solutions for building, enhancing, and protecting corporate identity and brand reputation. It is part of the international PR network of the Paris-based Havas Group, a leading public communications company with operations in the USA, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific.—Joe Carillo


taneka67

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Re: A clarion call for simplicity in written communication
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2011, 10:26:02 PM »
Thank you for sharing this to us here in forum Joe, I love  and  enjoyed reading it, I learned something from it also.  Keep it up and love to read another blog you will post here in forum.