Communicate Like a Pro– Skip the Windup
You know what drives me wild? Legalese. And I’m a lawyer.
Let me be clear– carefully used legal language is not only necessary, but in good hands can be an art form. But in the hands of legal hacks and wannabe lawyers, an awkward pidgin called legalese passes for communication when in fact all it does is obfuscate (often intentionally). It’s the stuff of brain-eating boilerplate, long-form mortgages, and insurance policy fine print. Lawyers who have a brain and a heart don’t write this stuff.
Legalese has corroded its way into everyday business communication, particularly e-mail, with weird and needless verbal tics such as reduplicating numbers. If I’ve written about it one (1) time, I’m sure I’ve written about it a thousand (1000) times, or more (>1000).
But the absolutely most pernicious use of legalese is in “windup language”– meaningless and bombastic verbiage stuffed into the first paragraph of notifications, frankly because the writer has neither the courage nor the wisdom to just get to the point.
My favourite hackle-raising opener is “Please be advised …”. This bombast is typically followed by badgering, confusing, and chilly finger-wagging, leaving you with a vague sense of dread but no clear idea how to avoid the wrath to come.
As if to seal your fate, the writer typically closes with the frosty warning “Please govern yourself accordingly”. If the writer had set out to drive a wedge between you and him, better language could not be imagined.
As readers, we all know that kind of language is counterproductive. So, when it’s out turn to write, let’s remember the fundamentals of effective, persuasive writing (or speaking):
1. Before you begin, know exactly what you need to say and what effect you want to have on your audience.
2. Tell your reader right at the outset what your purpose is. Get right to the point.
3. Grab the reader’s undivided attention and never let it go. And until you are confident this will be the case, don’t send the message.
4. Tie up any loose ends and make sure your reader knows what is expected of them, how, and when.
5. Your language should always be courteous. Even if you’re writing a legal warning, scalding and insulting language is always a mistake. Always.
6. Read it out loud to yourself at least twice before you send it. This will not only reduce goofy mistakes, but more important, will help you understand the emotional impact on the reader.