Why is business writing so awful?

An excerpt from Jason’s latest column in Inc. Magazine: “Why Is Business Writing so Awful?” When you write like everyone else and sound ...

An excerpt from Jason’s latest column in Inc. Magazine: “Why Is Business Writing so Awful?”

When you write like everyone else and sound like everyone else and act like everyone else, you’re saying, “Our products are like everyone else’s, too.” Or think of it this way: Would you go to a dinner party and just repeat what the person to the right of you is saying all night long? Would that be interesting to anybody? So why are so many businesses saying the same things at the biggest party on the planet—the marketplace?...

Unfortunately, years of language dilution by lawyers, marketers, executives, and HR departments have turned the powerful, descriptive sentence into an empty vessel optimized for buzzwords, jargon, and vapid expressions. Words are treated as filler—“stuff” that takes up space on a page. Words expand to occupy blank space in a business much as spray foam insulation fills up cracks in your house. Harsh? Maybe. True? Read around a bit, and I think you’ll agree.

Read the full piece.