Cut the waffle: the benefits of plain English

A short, punchy message increases your chances of being heard above the social media chatter.

So why do so many people use long words and complicated language in their blog posts and updates?

Maybe it’s hardwired from our school days. Teachers’ requests for a 5,000-word essay struck fear into our hearts and we resorted to padding and long words in an attempt to sound more knowledgeable than we really were.

It didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now.

Using plain English, and clear, concise language can make the difference between winning and losing business, or a potential client choosing your company over a competitor.

So, when every character counts, here are 18 waffle-busting ways to get straight to the point:

Instead of writing this…	write this
as and when	when
we will endeavour	we’ll try
in due course	soon
we are able to	we can
in a timely manner	on time
additional information	more details
in order to	to
we have a requirement for	we need
regarding	about
a significant number	lots
in close proximity	near
per annum	a year
please advise	tell us
prior to	before
until such time	until
please ensure	make sure
at the end of the day	ultimately
utilise	use