Articles
Ubiquity
Volume 2025, Number January (2025), Pages 1-8
Communication Corner: If You Write It Better, You Will Say It Better
Philip Yaffe
DOI: 10.1145/3712578
Each "Communication Corner" essay is self-contained; however, they build on each other. For best results, before reading this essay and doing the exercise, go to the first essay "How an Ugly Duckling Became a Swan," then read each succeeding essay.
Today it is generally accepted that to fully achieve in most fields of endeavor you must be a competent (if not a superior) writer and public speaker. Computer science and computer programming are no exception. However, it is a mistake to believe that good expository (non-fiction) writing public speaking are distinct disciplines. They are flipsides of the same coin. Recognizing this essential dualism makes achieving competence in both faster and significantly easier.
This essay (slightly modified) originally appeared in the March 2010 edition of Toastmaster, the official monthly magazine of Toastmasters International, which has more than 14,000 clubs for members seeking to grow their public-speaking and leadership skills.
For a long time, I have been preaching that good expository (non-fiction) writing and good expository speaking are more alike than different, i.e. they are flipsides of the same coin. I have been pretty much alone in this contention.
If you do an internet search for books about good writing, you will find tons of them; likewise, if you do an internet search for books about good public speaking, you will also find tons of them. However, if you do a search for books about writing and speaking together in the same volume, you are likely not to find any, including mine (The Gettysburg Approach to Writing and Speaking Like a Professional).
Nevertheless, when my book was published I asked to write an article about the concept for Toastmaster, the monthly magazine of Toastmasters International. Toastmasters is a century-old non-profit educational organization (not a school) of people from all walks of life helping other people in all walks of life improve their public speaking. It currently has more than 270,000 members in 150 countries around the globe.
Below is a modified version of the article. If you would like to see it in its entirety, follow the link at the end of this piece.
"THE BETTER YOU WRITE IT, THE BETTER YOU WILL SAY IT"
The problem with most articles and books on good writing is that they are—well, poorly written. This is because they concentrate on the use of language and not on the fundamentals of writing itself. The principles of good writing are few; all too often, the absolute essentials are buried under an avalanche of verbiage about technique.
For example, I recently searched the internet for "clear writing" and came up with a list of "10 principles of clear writing." Each principle offers good advice. However, these 10 principles are not really principles at all, but rather tips and techniques.
What's the difference?
Tips and techniques tell you what to do; principles tell you why you are doing it. Understanding why you are doing something, i.e., the benefits you will gain, helps ensure that you will do it consistently. Too often, when we are told only what to do, we follow the instructions half-heartedly, inconsistently, or not at all, with disastrous results.
During my senior year at UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles), I tutored writing to earn some much-needed cash. One day, a first-year student showed me a note from one of her professors that said, "Young lady, I advise you either to leave my class immediately or prepare to fail it." I determined that she had been misapplying a fundamental writing principle in her classwork, so I explained it to her and had her do a few simple exercises to be certain she understood it. By the end of the term, the expected "F" shot up to a gratifying "B."
This was not an isolated case. In my experience, when students have difficulty writing, it's generally because they are: 1) unfamiliar with a fundamental principle, 2) inconsistently applying it, 3) improperly applying it, or 4) don't apply it at all. The same thing occurs with preparing and giving speeches.
During my 40-year career in journalism, and marketing communications, I have been continually appalled by how poorly top business executives, academics, researchers, and other clearly intelligent people express themselves. Some years ago, I analyzed this discouraging phenomenon and defined three key principles that underlie virtually every kind of expository (non-fiction) writing and public speaking. To give them added strength and substance, I cast these principles in the form of quasi-mathematical formulas. As formulas, these principles not only tell you what to do, but they also tell you why you are doing it and how to go about it correctly.
In fact, these principles act like tests for effectiveness. If your speech fails these tests, it must be revised. If it passes them, then—and only then—should you look at the other aspects of public speaking to make your already good speech even better.
Clarity
Being clear is not a matter of personal appreciation. Do you find your text clear? You should—after all, you wrote it. But how can you be certain that it will be clear to others? According to the clarity principle, to be clear you must follow this formula:
Cl = EDE.
- Emphasize what is of key importance.
Before you start writing or speaking, you must first determine the main ideas that you want your readers or listeners to take away from your presentation. This is not always easy. It's far simpler to say that everything is of key importance, so you put in everything you have. However, unless you do the work of defining what you really want your audience to know, the audience won't get your point. They will simply get lost in your verbiage and either give up or never realize what they were supposed to have learned. - De-emphasize what is of secondary importance.
Next, as you write your text, you must be certain to de-emphasize what is of less importance. Why? Because if you really want your readers or listeners to recognize and retain the key ideas, you don't want them to get lost in the details. Details (information of secondary importance) explain and support the key ideas. They must never overwhelm them. - Eliminate what is of no importance.
Finally, you must ruthlessly eliminate what is of no importance. Why? Because any information that adds nothing to explaining and supporting the key ideas will tend to obscure them, which is exactly the opposite of what you want.
Conciseness
In order to be concise, your must follow this formula: Co = LS. According to the formula, your writing should be:
- As long as necessary.
This means covering all the key ideas you identified under "clarity," and all the information of secondary importance needed to explain and support them. Note that nothing is said here about the number of words because it is irrelevant. If it takes 800 words to be "as long as necessary," then 800 words must be used. If it takes 1,800 words, this is all right too. - As short as possible.
This means staying as close as you can to the minimum. Not because people prefer short texts and speeches. In the abstract, the terms "long" and "short" have no meaning. The important point is that all words beyond the minimum tend to damage clarity. Subconsciously, readers and listeners will continually try to understand why those words are there and will continually fail because they serve no purpose.
Density
Density is a less familiar concept than clarity and conciseness, but it is equally important. According to the density principle, your text or speech must follow the formula: D = PL. This means that your text or speech should contain:
- Precise information.
Using precise information rather than wishy-washy weasel words aids clarity. For example, if you say it is a "hot" day, what do you mean? Mention a temperature and everyone will better understand your meaning. Using precise information also builds the audience's confidence in your knowledge of the subject. - Logical linked.
Precise facts—data—are insufficient alone. To be meaningful, data must be organized to create "information." Apply these two important tests when converting data into information.- Data Test 1: Relevance. Is a particular piece of data really needed? Any information that fails to aid understanding or promote audience confidence should be rigorously eliminated.
- Data Test 2: Misconceptions. The logical link between data must be made explicit to prevent the audience from coming to false conclusions. To ensure that a logical link is clear, place the two pieces of data as close to each other as possible, preferably right next to each other. When data are widely separated, their logical link is masked.
Now, the 10 tips and techniques. Keeping these three true principles—clarity, conciseness, density—firmly in mind allows us to re-evaluate the following oft-quoted 10 tips of clear writing, thereby making them more meaningful and useful.
1. Keep sentences short.
This is usually interpreted to mean an average sentence length of 15–18 words. Readers and listeners could handle longer sentences; however, when the length rises above this average, sentences are likely to be poorly constructed, thereby damaging clarity.
But remember, an average sentence is 15–18 words. Don't shun longer sentences. A well-constructed long sentence is often clearer than two or more shorter ones. Why? Because the longer sentence might better show the logical linkage among the various elements, which often is lost by splitting it apart.
2. Prefer the simple to the complex.
If the precise word is long, don't be hesitant to use it, because not using it would damage clarity. On the other hand, if a shorter word would do just as well, choose it. For example, dog is usually better than canine, and change works better than modification.
3. Prefer the familiar word.
This is a variation of the second point. If you have a choice between two words, use the one most people are likely to recognize. For example, daily is more commonly used than quotidian.
The words you choose should be compatible with your audience's experience. If you need to use a word that's new to your audience, define it the first time you use it. If it is really key, define it again later on.
Be wary of words that look familiar but change meaning in the context of your subject. Example: Insult is medical jargon for an injury or trauma. Talking about an insult to the heart without first explaining the medical meaning of the word might leave your audience scratching their heads.
4. Avoid unnecessary words.
Be concise.
5. Use active verbs.
Active verbs tend to enhance clarity; conversely, too many passive verbs tend to damage it
6. Write the way you speak.
This is a useful technique, but don't take it literally. When we speak, we generally use simpler vocabulary and sentence structures than when we write. Writing the way you speak is a good way to produce a first draft. However, when we speak, our sentence structures are often confused and our vocabulary is imprecise. These faults must be rigorously corrected in the second or third drafts.
This is even more important for preparing a speech than writing a document. In a printed text, if people don't understand something, they have the luxury of reading it again. If you say something they don't understand, it's there, and then it's gone.
7. Use terms your audience can picture.
In other words, follow the density principle. When making a statement, be sure to support it with concrete data.
8. Tie in with your readers' experience.
Again, this is about density, about using precise information. The words you choose should be compatible with your audience's experience. If you need to use a word that's new to the, define it the first time you use it. If it's really key, define it again later on.
9. Make full use of variety.
If you conscientiously apply the principles of clarity, conciseness, and density, you will almost automatically introduce a variety of sentence lengths and structures into your presentation.
Avoid introducing too much vocabulary, though. Constantly changing terminology for the sake of variety affects clarity. If several words mean essentially the same thing, pick one or two of them and forget the others.
10. Write to express, not to impress.
The purpose of most expository (non-fiction) writing and public speaking is to inform or instruct. In fact, the better you write your speech, the less people are likely to notice. Keep your audience's attention by focusing the speech on a message rather than a series of facts. If you conscientiously apply the principles of clarity, conciseness, and density, you will almost automatically introduce a variety of sentence lengths and structure into your present
So, there you have it. A list of 10 writing tips and how they relate to the three fundamental principles of writing (clarity, conciseness, density). By always keeping these three principles firmly in mind, you can make your texts and speeches shine.
However, you must always keep them firmly in mind. Never let them fade. Because if you do let them fade, you will almost certainly suffer the same fate that nearly befell my young student at UCLA—a shattering "F" (failure) rather than a highly commendable "B" (approaching perfection).
Author
Philip Yaffe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1942 and grew up in Los Angeles, where he graduated from the University of California with a degree in mathematics and physics. In his senior year, he was also editor-in-chief of the Daily Bruin, UCLA's daily student newspaper. He has more than 40 years of experience in journalism and international marketing communication. At various points in his career, he has been a teacher of journalism, a reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal, an account executive with a major international press relations agency, European marketing communication director with two major international companies, and a founding partner of a specialized marketing communication agency in Brussels, Belgium, where he has lived since 1974. He is the author of more than 30 books, which can be found easily in Amazon Kindle.
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