Professional Doesn't Mean Impersonal

Professional English does not have to sound as though it was written by a committee. Whether you are writing a report, proposal, presentation or an important email, the purpose is still to communicate with another person.

Formality has its place, but adding distance to your writing does not automatically make it more professional. Sometimes it simply makes a straightforward message harder to read.

Write for the Situation

Professional writing covers an enormous range of situations. A report for senior management, an email to a colleague and a proposal for a new client cannot all be written in exactly the same way.

The subject matters, but so does your relationship with the reader. If you have worked with someone for ten years, suddenly addressing them as though you have never met may be technically formal but it is hardly natural.

The right tone is the one that suits both the purpose of the document and the person who is going to read it.

Formal Language Can Get in the Way

There is a temptation to use longer words and more complicated sentences when something is important. Unfortunately, importance and complexity are not the same thing.

If use says what you mean, you do not necessarily need utilise. If you can make a request in one clear sentence, there is little advantage in hiding it inside three paragraphs of formal introduction.

Your reader should notice the message before they notice the language.

Writing Professionally in Another Language

Writing in another language can make judging the right level of formality more difficult. A direct translation may be grammatically correct but sound far more formal, or occasionally far more casual, than you intended.

The safest option can appear to be very formal English, particularly for an important document. That can work, but it can also remove much of the natural tone and personality from the original.

Good editing should preserve what you wanted to say while making sure the English says it in a way that suits the situation.

You Are Still Talking to People

Reports contain facts. Proposals contain arguments. Emails contain information and requests. But all of them are written because somebody else needs to read and understand them.

Clear, natural language is not less professional because it is pleasant to read. Nor does being friendly mean becoming casual where the situation requires formality.

Professional writing should sound like a professional person communicating with another person. That is quite different from sounding impersonal.