Schoolteachers have done the world of web copy no favours.
They make you write long essays. And they encourage you to use complicated words to make yourself sound clever.
When writing for the web the rules are different. You want to get your message across as simply as possible, in plain English. That way your reader doesn’t have to do too much work.
When you’re writing about financial products – like employee share plans – clarity is even more important. This stuff is already hard enough to understand, without having to wade through an essay full of jargon.
Here are five quick tips for making your writing easy to understand.
1. Write as you’d speak, so your copy sounds natural
If you want your words to sound good in someone else’s head, you need to write as you’d speak. Formal writing distances you from your reader, and lets their attention drift. That’s pretty much the last thing you want.
2. Use simpler words and cut the jargon to save your reader work
You don’t need complex words to express complex ideas. Use the simplest word you can. Why would you say ‘require’ when you mean ‘ask’? ‘Assistance’ when you mean ‘help’? Longer words just mean your reader has to do more work to understand you.
You should also cut jargon to a bare minimum. If you absolutely have to use a technical term, make sure you explain it the first time you use it.
3. Use contractions to sound natural. And yes, you can start a sentence with a conjunction!
Contractions (like you’ll, we’d, and it’s) help make your writing feel more natural. This builds rapport with your audience.
If it’s what you’d say out loud, that’s what you should write.
To see how this works, let’s look at that last sentence with the contractions written in full. If it is what you would say out loud, that is what you should write. Which one sounds better?
And forget what your English teacher told you – it’s fine to start a sentence with a conjunction like ‘and’ or ‘but’. We do it in speech all the time.
4. Vary your sentence length to add rhythm and emphasis
Varying sentence length creates a natural flow and rhythm in the text. Short sentences add emphasis. Longer sentences are your chance to give more details and context. Like music, a text with natural rhythm is more enjoyable to read.
5. Use active voice to make it clear who’s doing what
When we write more formally, we often end up using something called passive voice. For example we might write: “The plan rules will be provided during the application process”.
The problem with this is that it’s ambiguous. The sentence has no subject. Here’s the active version: “We’ll provide the plan rules when you join.” This makes it clear who’s doing what (in this case, providing the rules).
The first version distances us from the reader. The second takes ownership of the action.
Need a hand with this stuff?
If you’re not sure whether you’ve nailed these points, the acid test is reading your copy out loud. If it feels clunky and awkward, that’s how it feels to your reader too.
At RewardPointZero we explain complicated concepts in plain English so every employee can understand what you’re offering them. If you feel like you could use some help with your share plan communications (or just fancy a natter about tone of voice), we’d love to chat.
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- How to address common concerns about share plans 14 Aug Tips on how to provide clear, straightforward answers to common questions.