OK Article Series: Putting on the Polish

Part I: Cultivating Conciseness

By Dalya Massachi

Whether you are seeking a new nonprofit job or just recently got hired, you will want to ensure that your documents strike the employer as clean and professional. In this three-part series, I will share some tips on how to polish up your work to make it stand out and shine.

This first installment is about how to cultivate conciseness. The idea here is to make sure your reader can quickly find the most relevant information. Most people will “take a pass” rather than spend much time or energy trying to sort things out. And that’s the last thing you want!

One of my favorite phrases about writing is rather Orwellian: Less is more. But it is not doublespeak. It’s true! Concise statements are powerful. Accessible words and phrases get read. Your challenge is to keep your piece as brief as possible, without compromising meaning. See how tight you can write.

Believe me, I know how wordiness can infect your writing! Almost every client I have had fights this condition. In fact, I still often find myself wallowing in a circuitous, excessive, unnecessary, irrelevant, extraneous multitude of quicksand-like mountains of verbiage (like this). Word proliferation is an occupational hazard for all writers. But if you find ways to moderate that situation, your readers will reward you.

TIP #1: Every word should work; delete freeloaders.

Stray words or phrases clutter up your meaning—if they are not doing their fair share of the work. If you suspect you have some freeloading words, sentences, or even paragraphs, put them to the “So what?” test. That is, check to see if any words leave your readers wondering, “So what? Did I really need to read those words?”

Ask yourself: Does every word, phrase, sentence, and paragraph advance your argument, contribute important information or insight, or help paint a picture in your reader’s mind?

If the answer is “no,” start deleting. This goes beyond cleaning up for its own sake. Extraneous words or concepts can distract or bog down your readers, and that can spell disaster for you.

A good rule of thumb is to keep your sentences to no more than about 14-20 words. See how close you can get by pretending to write Twitter posts! Remember that paragraphs can be anywhere from one brief, pithy sentence to five or six closely related sentences. Aim for an average of three or four, all focused on the same topic.

TIP #2: Include only as much detail as your readers want or need.

Not everyone wants a play-by-play of how you went about getting results. Most likely they are simply looking for a solid summary of the bottom line—with a few well-chosen details thrown in to illustrate your points and to forge a connection with you.

Along these same lines, avoid digressions and eliminate irrelevancies. Take your readers on a side trip that detracts from their main reading experience, and you are likely to lose them along the way.

TIP #3: Use short, simple words.

Traffic signs are great examples of conciseness used well. A red octagonal sign carries one word to enforce its meaning: “STOP.” It’s a good thing, too. No one would react quickly enough—or perhaps at all—to a sign that reads, “Bring your vehicle to a full and complete cessation of motion.”

In most cases, you probably do not want to strip down your piece quite that far. But you get the hint.

Ask yourself: Are you using words and phrases that are short and accessible enough for your intended readers?

Put your vocabulary on a diet: slim down most of your words to only one or two (at most three or four) syllables. This is not “dumbing down” your language, but simplifying it to reach the widest possible readership. While you may be required to use certain formal words, I suggest livening them up as much as possible to sound less bureaucratic and more user-friendly. Eliminate words and phrases that may confuse or annoy. Opt instead for the words that your readers would use themselves and thus prefer to read.

About the Author
Dalya F. Massachi specializes in helping nonprofit professionals advance their missions through outstanding fundraising and marketing materials – online and offline. A lifelong writer, Dalya’s first Letter to the Editor was published in her hometown newspaper before she was even a teenager. For nearly 20 years, Dalya has worked professionally with community-oriented organizations as a sought-after trainer, writing coach, grantwriter, journalist, and organizer. She has crafted countless successful marketing pieces, grant proposals, and news articles. Dalya’s award-winning book, entitled “Writing to Make a Difference: 25 Powerful Techniques to Boost Your Community Impact,” is available at a special discount for OK readers (http://bit.ly/kna7RA). Her website and free tip sheets and e-newsletter are at: www.dfmassachi.net.