Legal and Business Writing Consultant : Lori Herz : Write For Clients : Professional Writing and Online Content Consulting

This is the cautionary word from business communications expert Tom Sant, who’s interviewed in the March 2008 edition of Management Consulting News.

Sant’s latest book is The Language of Success. In the interview, he explains that it’s the business writer’s responsibility to “take the reader into account and modify the message to get through—even if your reader is dumb as a post.” Sant sees this obligation as a contract of sorts. If you breach that agreement, he says, readers have an absolute right to be put off.

It seems that this kind of breach often stems from the writer’s unwillingness or inability to communicate in his or her own voice. Sant refers to this as a “lapse into [ ] pseudo language, a nonfunctional way of communicating which they think is somehow superior to what they could produce themselves.” In his book, he identifies four common pseudo-languages:

• Fluff - Using vague generalizations and assertions
• Guff – Using big words, long sentences, lots of passive voice and convoluted constructions to convey superior intelligence or knowledge
• Geek – Using jargon-filled language instead of everyday terms
• Weasel – Using lots of subjunctive construction so that everything comes across as a hypothetical and nothing stands as an assertion
  

In addition to outing these pseudo-languages, Sant quotes a study finding that “comprehension drops dramatically when you substitute a longer synonym for just one out of every six short, everyday words.” Not only do big words make our writing harder to understand, they also make readers question our competence.

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Service professionals often find it challenging to connect with clients on a human-to-human level. That’s because you’ve been trained to cultivate a business persona that’s distinct from the person you are in your down time with family and friends. The business face you put on typically reflects just how seriously you take your role as an advisor and advocate to people who need your help.

How service providers can bring more of themselves to their work is a topic that frequently comes up when I consult with clients about there business communications. So, I was very happy to read the practical wisdom and guidance that communication skills coach Joey Asher offers in an article titled Faking the ‘Real You.’

Although he’s writing about public speaking, Asher’s advice applies just as well to any kind of written or live communication. His premise is that people who tend to come off as stiff, formal and standoffish when they communicate have to learn how to “fake [their] own authentic communication style.”

In presenting this “authenticity paradox,” Asher states: “Great speakers know how to fake their own "natural style" even when they don't feel natural at all. It's learning how to act like your real self.” So, instead of being formal, cool and distant when communicating with clients and other business contacts, we need to mimic our “natural personality” – the friendly cadence, rhythm and energy of the communications we have with people that we feel close to and comfortable with.

There’s no doubt that service providers can use Asher’s approach to foster successful business connections.

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