Business Writing Insights: Less is More?

For tens of thousands of years, human beings communicated information through time and across generations verbally and with gestures. Caregivers, elders and storytellers passed stories on to younger individuals. Eventually, humans developed written language. This meant we could rely on what others wrote. If future generations could read it, it would persist.

First, some history. Here is a look at significant developments of the written word:

• It is believed the earliest form of writing arose in Mesopotamia around 3200 BCE. Around the same time, the Egyptians used hieroglyphics to convey meaning and messages.
• It is believed that, around the 8^th Century BCE, the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, which became the basis for the Roman, and ultimately, the modern English alphabet.
• Around 100 BCE, paper was invented in China; this allowed for a much easier way to store, transport and combine multiple pages into books.
• Around 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented the Gutenberg printing press.

Before the invention of the printing press, all the books in Europe could fit in one small room. Only 50 years later, around 1500, there were nine million books in Europe. Among other benefits, the Gutenberg printing press and the rapid spread of books contributed to the Renaissance, which effectively brought an end to the Dark Ages in Europe. More than five hundred years after the Gutenberg printing press, in 1971, computer engineer Ray Tomlinson sent the first email.

Fast forward to present times. According to Prosperity Media, the average office worker sends 40 and receives 120 emails a day! Forbes reports that workers spend an average of 20 hours a week using digital communication tools. As summarized by Apollo Technical, emails are the primary communication for as many as 74% of working adults. Electronic business writing is a significant part of our overall communications.

I first became interested in business writing years ago. I collaborated with a team of technical writers. That team reviewed and contributed to actuarial model documentation. I attended one of the training courses for the team administered by Exec-comm. We learned about business writing best practices. This was an eye-opening course. I carried the teaching with me for years. I reference them continually as I author articles for actuarial publications, compose written content as part of my job and advise on model documentation best practices. I talk about business writing strategies and tactics every chance I get.

Per Forbes, half of workers report that ineffective communication affects their productivity. Sixty percent of workers report increased burnout resulting from increased digital communications. Forty-two percent of workers experience stress trying to form written responses that convey the right tone of voice. In addition to the sage statement made by a former boss that “writing is the hardest form of communication,” I believe business writing is also one of the most undervalued. I believe, especially as actuaries and technical professionals, we continually under-emphasize its importance. I believe we should spend more time focusing on business writing as a critical communication tool.

To that end, here are business writing strategies and tactics that may be of benefit to actuaries and technical professionals looking to improve their overall communication skills.

Use fewer words when you write

A quote I reference often (attributed to Mark Twain and many others) is, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” This is a great quote because it conveys the correlation between time and more concise, less verbose, written content. That is counterintuitive at first. It would seem the more time spent; the more words written.

One thing to build into daily practice is a check of your Flesch-Kincaid readability score. Per readable.com, in the 1970s, the Navy hired Rudolph Flesch and Peter Kincaid to simplify their technical manual, seeing the existing ones as too complicated. Flesh and Kincaid developed a school grade equivalent score. This means that based on the formula they derived, you can figure out the grade-level equivalent at which you are writing.

Here is a key piece of advice. Most business writing should occur at a grade equivalent level between 8 and 10, or even lower. Sources that support this include Express Writers, Readabilityformulas.com, Winning the Business, Public Relations Society of America and Aquinas Writing Advantage. A suitable grade-level equivalent for business writing is 8–10 because the higher it gets, the more difficult and time-consuming the communication is to read. As actuaries and technical professionals, we can all read content generated at a collegiate or at postgraduate level. However, it takes time. Sometimes, it requires re-reading content. With the pace of written communication we receive throughout each day, it is often time we do not have.

Most word processing applications, like Microsoft Word and Outlook, include an add-on allowing you to check your Flesh-Kincaid readability score. I routinely check mine. I have reduced my score from grade 12–14 to 8–10 over time and with intention. The key is to use fewer words per sentence and fewer syllables per word. When you do this, it is easier for people to quickly read what you send them. This increases the likelihood they will act on it in the way you intend.

Here is an example: “It is best to make sure to use fewer words when you sit down to write an important message.” You can re-write that as, “Use fewer words when you write.” That has fewer than one-third of the words. Typically, my advice is to cut one-half to two-thirds of your first draft. Twain, often associated with the concept of concise writing, noted that it takes more time; time well spent, I believe. In this way, you keep only the keywords and messages. The concept of less is more is a key to adapting successful business writing strategies and tactics.

Get to the point

As actuaries and technical professionals, we learn to assess a set of data or a circumstance requiring analysis or judgment. We process that information by applying logic and assumptions. Then, we draw a conclusion based on judgment and training. It often feels natural to communicate our key conclusions and messages following this same pattern of communication: problem statement, followed by process to solve, then results.

A tricky thing about effective business writing is to reverse the order. This is especially true when it comes to communicating with higher levels of management. It is important that we document our assumptions, processes and qualifications—such as the limitations of our work—in an actuarial report, per ASOP #41 Actuarial Communications. However, it is critical to get to the point. We need to communicate the key messages to management while providing full access and transparency to the report. This means we should lead with the conclusion.

Because so much business writing occurs via email, it is important to use the subject line well. When asking someone for something by a specific date, state that in the subject line. In this way, the recipient will understand what you are asking for before reading the email.

It is prudent to abide by the scroll-down rule. This is a phrase I coined. The concept is that an email needs to fit on the screen of the recipient. If not, he or she will need to scroll down. In my experience, recipients are less likely to read anything that seems too long. They may never read it. I make a continual habit of not violating the scroll-down rule. It is part of my personal brand. People receiving emails from me know they can read all my content quickly. It is all contained on that first screen.

It is important not to bury the key piece of information in the middle or end of a paragraph. If you are asking someone to do something by a certain date, and they do not read your every word, they may not see your request. I typically move the primary ask to the bottom of the email. I use a special font. This includes bold, italics or a color like orange. In this way, my recipients’ eyes go directly to the key part of the email. After seeing my question in the subject line and in the text of the email, they cannot miss it. That does not always mean that people do what I ask in written communication, but at least I am more hopeful that they saw it.

Show respect in all your written communications

Since the pandemic and with the prevalence of remote and hybrid work, I have noticed the number of instant messages in the workplace has increased dramatically. While we (generally) write with a more formal introduction and ending in an email, people often skip this step when using instant communications, like Microsoft Teams or Skype.

I feel that skipping the formal greeting can come across as disrespectful. Skipping the greeting assumes a level of familiarity that may not be proper. Examples are: Did you get my email? Did you finish the task? While these can feel very direct and an efficient way to communicate with a colleague, they can come across as demanding, rude or disrespectful without a greeting.

It is best to start instant messages with a suitable greeting. A simple “Good morning,” “Hello, I hope your day is going well,” or something similar might soften the tone and convey respect. Many people skip this step. It could be a missed opportunity to reinforce your brand of effective relationship-building with colleagues.

Another element of instant messages is that they may interrupt others with regularly scheduled meetings. Most business instant messaging software shows if the recipient is on “do not disturb” or “in a meeting.” The flashing red bubbles that social media has trained us to pay attention to also show up in our messaging software. Sending someone an instant message while they are in a “do not disturb,” or “in a meeting” status, implies you believe you have something that is worth distracting them for.

Imagine you were working in person, and someone was in a meeting. Imagine barging into the room, distracting the person from the meeting, and saying, “Did you finish the milestone?” It is something we would never do. That is effectively how people sometimes use instant messaging software.

Bringing it all together

Effective business writing can be hard, undervalued, undertaught and underemphasized. It is important.

To improve communication skills, given how heavily we rely on written communication, I believe it is prudent to focus on developing our written communication skills.

Here are three simple strategies and tactics:

1. Use fewer words per sentence and fewer syllables per word.
2. Get to the point by saying what you want in the subject line of an email and in a separate line of text with a special font.
3. Show respect by starting with a proper greeting and not interrupting your recipients while they are in a meeting.

By incorporating these practices into your daily habits, you could significantly improve your written communication. This could make you a better overall communicator and a better and more effective leader within your organization.

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries or the respective authors’ employers.

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