Our current web generation is a text generation, in which text is the glue that holds together sets of images, photos, videos and any other type of communication media. Writing plays a huge role in the way we work and communicate, both in the most traditional institutions and the most creative environments. When we write, we all aim to write text that is light and clean; but this lightness can be very difficult for the writer to achieve and the reader to grasp, both on paper and on the web. This can be made even more difficult by the standardised language that is used in certain professions, such as found in bureaucratic or political institutions, to name just a couple. This standardised language can make the reader feel like each text is the same as the last, often leaving them with the unpleasant sensation of reading content that lacks meaning, sounds flat, is full of conventional platitudes, and anything but light.
This type of heavy, cumbersome language can be found in public offices, banks, IT companies and cultural heritage publications. These are typically environments where people tend to complicate what could be simple, by using overly convoluted language. The tendency is for the writers in these contexts to use sophisticated language, to give themselves an air of importance, rather than keeping it light, so as to communicate easily with their readers. They often choose complex sentence structures and technical or pompous expressions, which of course make the text much hard-going than it needs to be.
So, what should we do when we come across this type of language? First, we can use it to create a list of words and phrases to avoid in our own writing, then we can try and replace them with simpler, more fluid language. Of course, each field has its own technical terms that cannot be replaced, but those words are few. Wherever possible, it is best to simplify your writing with terms that help the overall flow of the text, for example we can replace “aimed at” with “for” and “with the help of” can be cut back to a simple “with”, making the writing style far more accessible to the everyday reader.
In fact, the main parametres that determine how easy a text is to read and understand are the length of its words and sentences. They should be kept as short and concise as possible. In addition, the more direct words are the ones that capture the reader’s attention, because they refer to something the reader knows. So, not only will using straightforward terminology bring the writer and their reader closer, but for example, for online text, it will also help you appear at the top of the list in web searches. Let’s say, we are advertising a hotel: it is better to use words like “swimming pool” and “restaurant” rather than drawing up abstract descriptions of the facilities (even if they do paint a lovely picture) such as “high level comfort” or “breath-taking view”, because these are not the words our potential customer will put in a search engine when looking for a hotel. This does not mean that our writing should be devoid of imagination: with a little practice, you will be able to write about abstract, evocative concepts using concise language and the right selection of words.