Music is the space between the notes."

                                    Claude Debussy

This quote came to mind during a recent tone of voice project. On reviewing the source material, it soon became clear that the first and most important step toward an improved tone would be a basic edit.

This is not uncommon. Scrutinise most business communications and you'll find that 10-15% of the wordage could be cut without loss. Redundancy, hyperbole and repetition abound. Readers everywhere furrow their brows (if they're still reading) subconsciously muttering: 'Will you please CUT TO THE CHASE?!’

Rule #1 of good business communication: get to the point.

As the impeccable Strunk wrote in Elements of Style:

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."

Or, as Antoine de Saint-Exupery put it:

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

Until next time...

Kind regards

Alan
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