"Have something to say
and say it as clearly as you can.
That is the only secret of style."
Matthew Arnold
British poet and critic, 1822 – 1888
That wonderful quote launches ”When Words Fail,” the most recent of Tony Proscio’s three diatribes against the jargon of public purpose, and the vague and cluttered language of philanthropy (available for free download here). All three essays are gems of wit and wisdom, not just for professionals in philanthropy, but for anyone who claims a public purpose in their written communications (grantwriters, advocates, policy makers, arts marketers, academics).
Proscio explores why and how the conversation of public service and public good got to be so obtuse and impenetrable. And he nudges all of us toward clarity in what we say — so that our constituents will understand, and so that we can form a productive conversation amongst ourselves. All are short and worth a reading. But to get you started, here are Proscio’s suggestions for writing more clearly, taken from his first essay, ”In Other Words: A plea for plain speaking in foundations.” It’s not rocket science, but that’s the point.
- CONJURE YOUR AUDIENCE WHILE YOU WRITE.
If you are writing for a general audience, meaning well-educated people who don’t happen to share your line of expertise, it may be helpful to envision one typical reader — preferably a friend — and write as if you were sending a letter to that person. If your friend wouldn’t understand a term or phrase, don’t use it. Better still, ask yourself how your non-specialist friend would describe the same idea, and borrow the language, in a sense, from him or her. Experience suggests that the first few attempts at this method may feel hopelessly limiting (and may be so time-consuming that it jeopardizes deadlines). But regular practice is an effective way of weeding out arcane, obscure, or ”inside” expressions. - MAKE UP YOUR OWN JARGON LIST.
As you sit through meetings — the boring ones are best for this — start a list of the buzz-phrases you hear others overusing. The fact that these phrases annoy you should be reason enough to avoid them yourself. Yet you may be surprised (and humbled) to discover that you do not, in fact, always avoid them. That painful discovery is no fun, but many people find the making and keeping of such a list both helpful and (during the worst meetings) therapeutic. - OUTLINE IN PLAIN PHRASES.
Outlining is one of those tasks from college that you probably left behind with your French irregular verbs. And ordinary outlining can, it’s true, be a little burdensome. The key exercise in this context, though, is not really the outline itself, it’s the words you use in the outline. The rules are roughly these: (a) use just half a dozen words for the average numbered item, with a maximum of 10; (b) use only words and phrases that would fit naturally in USA Today. The point is definitely not that your eventual writing should mirror USA Today — only that the topics should each be expressible as a headline suitable for a very general newspaper readership. ”Comprehensive initiative impacts system reform” won’t do. ”Wide-ranging project changes how City Hall serves the neighborhood” is better. Eventually, your full written product may have to contain a few technical phrases, if the subject is at all technical. But in making the outline, you will at least have given every topic an ordinary, clear name. And the process of making up those names usually focuses creative attention on concepts that would otherwise have been expressed in jargon. - READ YOUR FINISHED WORK OUT LOUD
This may not work for everyone, but when it works, it’s powerful. Hearing long, convoluted sentences and dense phrases read aloud can be shocking and revealing. The benefit of hearing text, rather than just reading it, is that it gives the writer an opportunity to ask, “Would anyone really say that?” When the answer is No–and it often is–then the odds are good that a rewrite is in order.
Thanks to Andy Goodman for the link (part of his summer reading list, containing other gems). And attention to anyone that ever writes anything about the arts or their organizations.