1. Professional Communication: The Corporate Insider’s Approach
Chapter Six
Language and Readability: Thinking Out Into Language

2. Thinking Out Into Language
A man’s style is his mind’s voice. (Emerson)
Style is the dress of thoughts. (Lord Chesterfield)
Style is the “sound”. . . words make on paper. (E. B. White)

3. Five Attributes of Style
Style is synonymous with who we are.
Style reflects the clarity of our thoughts.
Style provides the precision of our ideas.
Style gives voice to both meaning and sound.
Style represents a skill that can be acquired.

4. Fundamental Elements of Style
Selecting and using words appropriately
Avoiding jargon
Controlling readability

5. Elements of Business Style
Method
Language
Readability
Discipline
Rhetoric of grammar
Art
Stylistic tactics

6. Selecting Words
Connotation and Denotation—Do the word’s implied and literal meanings fit your purposes and audience?
Precision—Is the selected phrase a solid and specific articulation of the thought you intended to convey?

7. Categories of Imprecision
The seemingly precise
Soft diction
Business jargon

8. Jargon We become a prisoner to jargon when we Invent new words
Blunt the edges of the words we have
Simply choose the wrong word for the job

9. First Steps to Creating Style
Use simple, accurate words
Use words precisely
Be concise and concrete
Avoid creating words using suffixes and prefixes
Avoid fostering occupational protectionism

10. First Steps to Creating Style
Avoid creating popularized technicalities
Avoid redundancy of expression
Avoid stacking nouns when a direct name can be used
Use acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations only when readily recognizable and accepted
Recheck any sentence of more than 20 words.

11. Readability of Business Communication
Readability/ Formulaic Considerations
Vocabulary (abstractness)
Idea Density (comprehension)
Business Equivalents
Precise Language
Content Presentation

12. Idea Density Design Pace
Idea density can be achieved through the control of
Design
Pace

13. Language & Readability—The Lessons
Effective communication demands careful selection of
Language
Diction
Pace
Information design