Jargon Doesn't Impress

There is a strange thing that happens to perfectly good English when people start writing for business. Simple words become longer, sentences become more complicated and perfectly normal expressions are replaced by something that sounds more important.

This is particularly common when English is not your first language. You know you are writing for a client, customer or business partner, so you reach for what you think is better English: more formal, more sophisticated and more professional.

Unfortunately, native English speakers can usually spot it a mile away.

Professional Doesn't Mean Posh

Business English does not need to sound grand. In fact, trying to make it sound more impressive can have exactly the opposite effect.

We aim to facilitate the optimisation of your business processes.

There is nothing grammatically wrong with that sentence. Facilitate and optimisation are perfectly good English words. But unless they are there for a reason, they make the reader work harder than necessary.

We help you make your business processes more efficient.

This says much the same thing without announcing quite so loudly that it is Business English.

Longer words are not better English. They are just longer words.

Jargon Is Not the Same as Terminology

Every industry has its own language. Engineers, accountants, lawyers, scientists and IT professionals use specialist terms because those terms have specific meanings.

That isn't necessarily jargon.

If everyone reading a document knows what a KPI is, there is little point replacing it with key performance indicator every time it appears. If a technical term is the correct term, use it.

Jargon becomes a problem when complicated language replaces ordinary English without adding anything useful.

A company doesn't automatically become more impressive because it leverages innovative solutions to optimise the customer journey. Sometimes it simply helps customers do something more easily.

Beware of Words That Sound Important

Business writing has fashions just like everything else. Words such as innovative, strategic, holistic, dynamic, synergy, leverage and solutions can all mean something.

They can also mean almost nothing.

If you describe every service as innovative, every decision as strategic and every approach as dynamic, the words stop telling the reader anything.

Before using a business expression, ask yourself a simple question: What do I actually mean?

If you can answer that in ordinary English, you may have found the sentence you should write.

Don't Translate Formality

This can be particularly difficult when you work in more than one language. A phrase that sounds appropriately formal and professional in one language may sound stiff or old-fashioned when translated directly into English.

You may also have learned English expressions from textbooks, contracts, formal letters or other business documents. They are not necessarily incorrect, but that doesn't mean they are the way a native English speaker would normally communicate.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any further information.

is perfectly correct English.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

is also professional English.

The right choice depends on the document, the reader and the relationship between you. Formality has its place. The mistake is assuming that the more formal version must be the better English.

Write What You Mean

Good business English should not make the reader admire your vocabulary. It should make them understand your business.

Use technical language when it is necessary. Be formal when the situation requires it. Use a longer word when it is the right word.

But don't dress up an ordinary sentence simply because it is going to a client.

If your English is clear, natural and says exactly what you mean, making it sound more "business-like" may be the quickest way to make it worse.