Tip 70 – Wordy phrases that undermine your message - Shipley Asia Pacific

…’As a general rule’… ‘a large proportion of’ … and other wordy phrases undermine your message.

Simplicity counts. Long words raise suspicion. The more simply an idea is presented, the more understandable and credible the message, person, organisation behind it.

Selecting the wrong word makes the reader question:

•your literacy, and by extension your facts

•the quality of the working relationship – if you cannot communicate clearly in your proposal, will you be able to communicate clearly on the project?

•the level of associated project risk – you increase your project risk when you use imprecise or incorrect words in legal documents

At best – wordy phrases are clumsy and obscure your meaning.

At worst – they de-emphasise or hide key ideas and prompt customers to tune out and select another bidder.