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Cleardocs in the mediaThe article below appeared in Australian CPA the magazine published by CPA Australia which is the association for Certified Practising Accountants. The article is in the September 2003 issue on page 44. You can read the article below. The write stuffAdopting a plain writing style that is clear and concise will keep your clients happy. Communications expert Christopher Balmford looks at ways to get your message across Plain language has become a distinguishing feature for service providers. The documents you write present your public face. When someone reads your documents, their subconscious conducts a reality check on the claims your organisation makes about itself - claims about being, say, innovative or client-focused. Do your organisation's documents enhance its brand? Most finance, accounting and business professionals strive to make their oral communications successful. But too often they write in a style that suggests that they are concerned about making their writing sound officious. Poor documents add costs and delays. They alienate and frustrate readers. They sour relationships rather than sweeten them. Increasingly, CPAs are acknowledging that plain language is essential. It helps in client relations and is vital for areas of work such as triple bottom line reporting. That sort of reporting requires organisations to be upfront, to be transparent, and to be model corporate citizens in every regard. With full and frank disclosure so top of mind, clarity becomes a key. The pressure to be clear applies to clients in their financial reports and it also applies to CPAs advising their clients how to manage their businesses and how to organise their lives. Clarity is achieved by focusing on your audience and your purpose. Let's deal with purpose first. You almost certainly know how to write. But do you remember why you write? Consider the range of possible purposes for writing. They include: advising; persuading; informing; educating; extracting information; and marketing. Although we have many purposes for writing, most of us use the one style most of the time. People seem to develop a work voice. They want to sound extremely professional so they decide to write in a way that is formal and traditional. But formal plus traditional doesn't equal professional. For many it comes across as pompous and out of date. How many (if any) of the purposes for which you write are best served by using a formal, traditional, 'work-voice' style? We need to let the purpose of the writing influence, or even dictate, the style in which we write. How could one style suit all possible purposes? Let's move from purpose to audience. What style do readers prefer? When we think like a reader, we know the style of document we want. But frequently, as writers, we don't write in the style we'd like to read. Ask yourself: 'What's the best sort of business writing that I read that gets sent to me at home?' Then ask: 'Would I, could I, do I, write like that at work?' If you would, could, or do write like that, then that's terrific. Go for it. If, however, you like a clearer style when you are the reader but you feel that you can't use that style when you're a writer at work (perhaps because it would seem unprofessional), then maybe your work voice is too in control of your writing. If you still have concerns, then think about your readers. If you are writing to a government regulator to crave an indulgence (say, an extension of time or a waiving of penalty fees) then by all means be fairly formal and traditional. Likewise, if you are writing to a client who is 65, then maybe it's best to take the formality up a level. But the rest of the time we need to recognise that there is a comfortable space between being too formal and being too informal. This is the place your readers probably want you to be when you write. If you're in that space, then you're likely to write in a way that they can understand, and in a way that makes them feel that you really are client-focused - and maybe even innovative. In turn, you'll probably be happier in that space too. It will feel more relaxed. After all, for most people (whether as writers or as readers), a clear, direct, and personal style is likely to be much better - even, or especially, for business writing. Better in the sense that it enables people to understand a document the first time they read it. Better in the sense that having finished reading, they are likely to feel positively towards you the writer - positive because your document has made it easy for them to know what to do next and how to go about it. Tips for clear communicationTake responsibility for how the message is received. Merely sending the message isn't enough. We need to adjust our style to suit our particular audience and purpose. It's almost certain that one style won't suit all audiences and all purposes. Here are some tips:
Have only one thought in each sentence. Average about 20 words a sentence. Crises of clarityGiven the following true-life document disaster stories, one wonders how long it will be before the courts and regulators move against a lack of clarity in corporate governance documents.
About the authorChristopher Balmford is a former lawyer whose website www.cleardocs.com provides plain language legal document packages for accountants. He also provides training and document rewriting services
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