Bad writing: the canary in the coal mine

“Bad writing is the canary in the coal mine. It tells you that you don’t know what you’re doing.” (Image by Capri23auto from Pixabay)

Which of these sounds better to you?

  1. “Give me my money back!” he said loudly.
  2. “Give me my money back!” he shouted.

The second is surely far better. Adverbs have their place, but if you can find the right verb to express what you want to say, that is always neater and punchier.

This is one example – a very simple one – of lexical diversity, which is largely about having a good vocabulary and using it well.

“A recent academic study found that lexically diverse hedge funds outperform.”

A recent academic study suggested that lexical diversity may be more important for fund managers than you might think. The study found that “lexically diverse hedge funds” – ones with strategy descriptions that use a rich vocabulary – outperform.

This is perhaps unsurprising. A dull, predictable vocabulary seldom heralds searing intelligence – or great engagement with the task at hand.

But there’s more to it than that. The study also found that lexically diverse hedge funds eschew tail risk and encounter fewer regulatory problems. By contrast, funds with “syntactically complex strategy descriptions” are more likely to violate regulations.  

“Lexical diversity […] has been associated with cognitive ability and honesty,” the study says. “Syntactic complexity […] has been linked to deceptive behaviour.”

“Syntactic complexity has been linked to deceptive behaviour.”

This chimes with our experience of teaching writing. A rich vocabulary stems from engagement and belief. Convoluted sentences happen when writers are hiding something or don’t understand it.

Good writing is important. It’s not just that bad writing gives you away. Bad writing is the canary in coal mine. It tells you that don’t know what you’re doing or what you’re doing isn’t right.

Utilising numerous lengthy turns of phrase?

“Short words will give your writing pace and punch.” (Image by Aberro Creative from Pixabay.)

One of the easiest things you can do to improve your writing is to stop using unnecessarily long words. They slow the pace of your text and can sound old-fashioned and pompous. The same is true of wordy phrases.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t use long words at all. Where there’s no sensible short alternative, then it’s fine to use a long word if your readers will understand it. But don’t use a long word where a short word would work just as well.

“Don’t use a long word where a short word would work just as well.”

At the top of my blacklist of long words are utilise, numerous, approximately and necessitate. Do these words often appear in your texts? If so, try replacing them with use, many, about and require. The short words will give your writing pace and punch while creating a relaxed, confident tone.

If you feel resistant to making this simple change, ask yourself why. Perhaps, like many people, you believe that using long words makes you appear professional and educated.

“At the top of my blacklist of long words are utilise, numerous, approximately and necessitate.”

It’s certainly true that business writing is often peppered with long words, management-speak and jargon. But that doesn’t mean it’s good practice to use these words. Rather it shows that many people in business are not very skilled writers.

If you’re still not convinced, just look at my headline. Impressed? Of course you aren’t. Similarly, you won’t impress anyone by using unnecessarily long words.

Forget the fudge: give it to investors straight when funds perform poorly

Effective communication with institutional investors could be the difference between retaining and losing clients. (Image by rawpixel from Pixabay.)

Institutional investors want to hear from fund managers more when their funds are performing poorly, according to a new study from CoreData Research.

No surprise there. Now for the tricky part.

Asset managers’ ability “to communicate effectively and regularly with institutional investors” could be the difference between retaining and losing clients, says Craig Phillips, head of CoreData Research International.

“Tell the truth. Perhaps you think you do. But is it the unvarnished truth?”

Regular communication is easy to organise. But how can you ensure that communication with your institutional (and retail) clients is effective when your fund is performing poorly?

May we suggest that you follow two simple guidelines? Both are maxims that your grandparents probably taught you but that often get forgotten in business.

First, tell the truth. Perhaps you think you do. But is it the unvarnished truth? Our fund performed poorly last month. Or is it a fudgy half-admission? The fund has seen strong headwinds. Performance was impacted by negative allocation effects.

“Fund managers write about ‘the fund’ as if it were an alien being that had landed on their desk from outer space.”

Second, take responsibility for your fund. Own it.

Often, fund managers write about “the fund” as if it were an alien being that had landed on their desk from outer space. They do that even when it’s doing well. When it’s doing badly, they push the dreadful creature away from them. Aargh! Nothing to do with me.

No one expects a fund to perform brilliantly every quarter, but they do expect to understand why it has performed poorly. You know why; it’s your fund.

So, give it to them straight. Tell your investors what happened and why in clear and simple terms. Be honest. And be personal. Talk about our fund, our performance.

They are sure to thank you. And they might stick with you as well.

Style matters – but not as much as substance

A writing style guide isn’t just about creating consistency; it also helps to reinforce a brand. (Image by Relea Leonard from Pixabay.)

It was the perfect silly season story: a prominent arch-Brexiter Westminster MP requiring his staff to use imperial measurements and to address non-titled men as Esq. British newspapers and the Twittersphere had a field day.

Whether or not you’re a fan of the politician in question, you have to take your (top) hat off to him. Because a writing style guide isn’t just about creating consistency; it also helps to reinforce a brand. And if your carefully-constructed public persona is old-fashioned, then your writing style should be old-fashioned too.

“Whatever your own company’s brand, its style guide is designed to project a certain image”

Whatever your own company’s brand, its style guide (if there is one) is designed to project a certain image. Therefore, you should follow it when writing at work, even if you wouldn’t choose to adopt some or all of the house rules in other contexts.

If you don’t have a style guide, consider adopting a newspaper one. It will help you to write consistently and to avoid wasting time on little style decisions such as whether to hyphenate a compound word.

“If you don’t have a style guide, consider adopting a newspaper one”

The Economist’s excellent guide is a favourite among fund managers. The Guardian, too, has a comprehensive – and amusing – guide, which you can find online.

Returning to the silly season, don’t be distracted by the funny stories. It doesn’t hugely matter whether we address a letter to John Smith, Mr John Smith or John Smith Esq. Just as investors judge a fund on its strategy and performance, we should judge our politicians on their ideas and policies – not on their style guides.

Fall in love with full stops

Pen writing
In business writing, people typically do not use the full stop enough. (Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay.)

The full stop is such an important and powerful punctuation mark that it has been incorporated into spoken English. When dumping a lover, you might say, “I never want to see you again. Full stop.” That means never, ever. The spoken full stop adds emphasis.

The written full stop can do this too. On social media, splitting phrases into one-word sentences is a popular way of making a point.

“Short sentences are clear, compelling and authoritative”

If you end relationships by Tweet (and we’re told some people do), you might Tweet your ex, “I. Never. Want. To. See. You. Again.”

In business writing, people typically do not use the full stop enough. It’s almost as if they think that short sentences are unprofessional.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Short sentences are clear, compelling and authoritative.

If you are writing about a technical topic, long sentences make it harder for your readers to follow what you are saying. That’s one of the reasons why they are so popular; they provide cover for you, the writer.

In short sentences, there is nowhere to hide. You must command your material.

“A good piece of writing usually contains a mix of very short, short and longer sentences”

Of course, you don’t want all your sentences to be very short. That can feel like machine-gun fire.

But a good piece of writing usually contains a mix of very short, short and longer sentences. So, the next time you find yourself writing a string of long, rambling sentences, stop.

Then reach for one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s toolkit. The full stop.