How to use great language to create great communications

If you want to be a great communicator – and communication skills are the number one skills of a business leader – then you need to use great language.  But what is great language and how do you use it? 

In short, great language is clear, precise, original and evocative. 

Meet the Author: Benjamin Ball

Ben is the founder of London-based Benjamin Ball Associates and leads the presentation coaching and pitch deck creation teams. Formerly a corporate financier in the City of London, for 20+ years he’s helped businesses win with better pitches and presentations, particularly investor pitches. He is a regular speaker and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and UCL London.  Follow Ben on LinkedIn or visit the contact page. 

What We Get Wrong in Business Language

Too much of what we hear and read in business is not great language.  For example, we are all too familiar with common corporate jargon such as  “touch base”, “circle back”, “low-hanging fruit”, “synergy”, “bandwidth” and “take this offline”.

While these phrases sound meaningful, they are over-used, imprecise and dull.  Great language immediately provokes the senses and inspires you to listen.  For example, here are some alternatives to the weak phrases above:

Tests for Great Business Language

George Orwell in his 1946 essay suggests a set of questions that every writer should ask:

1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
5. Can I put it more shortly?
6. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?

This is great advice that you should apply to improve your business writing and presentations.

How to Spot Poor Business Language

The problem is that too much corporate language is vague and unclear.   For example, one of my pet hates is when I hear fluffy phrases such as “We are focused on stakeholder engagement”.  This is an excellent example of poor communication. Why?

• “Focused on” – what exactly does this mean?  Are you looking at it or are you doing something about it?
• “Stakeholder” – who’s a stakeholder?  Am I included?  Who’s not a stakeholder?
• “Engagement” – what is an engagement?  Does it involve a ring?  Does it involve talking or listening?
• “Stakeholder Engagement” – sounds like a vampire-hunters party

Before and After Examples of Business Language

Let’s see how you can turn a meaningless and vague phrase into great language – something clear and precise by better choice of language:

BEFORE

“We are focused on stakeholder engagement”

AFTER

Look at these examples of what you should say instead.  As you can see, by carefully choosing the verbs and nouns that you use (essential in great language), you are more precise and clear in your communication:

• We are speaking to our customers to improve our service to them
• We will be speaking to people that buy from us
• We plan to run a survey that will tell us how we are seen by our suppliers
• Over the next two weeks we will talk to 20 of our staff to get their feedback
• We are calling 50 existing customers this month to ask what we could improve.
• We will email every client next week to ask for feedback on our service.

• Our account managers will meet key customers to understand their concerns.
• We are running one-to-one interviews with recent buyers about their experience.
• We will ask our top ten clients what is working and what is not.
• We are surveying customers who have used us in the past six months.
• We will hold three employee roundtables to hear direct feedback.
• Our team will speak to new customers about their first impressions.

• We are contacting suppliers to ask how easy we are to work with.
• We will gather feedback from local residents after each completed project.
• We are asking clients specific questions about service speed and quality.
• We will review customer comments collected through our support channels.
• Our directors will meet major clients to discuss their expectations.
• We are asking departing employees what would make them more likely to stay.

• We will speak to long-term customers to understand why they stay with us.
• We are interviewing lost customers to learn why they left.
• We will ask recent enquirers how clear our communication was.
• Our sales team will follow up with buyers to hear their honest feedback.
• We are inviting our staff to share suggestions for improvement.
• We will collect structured feedback through a short online questionnaire.

• We are speaking directly to decision-makers at client organisations.
• We will ask customers to rate our service and explain their scores.
• Our team will listen to staff concerns and respond within five days.
• We are gathering feedback from customers before changing our processes.
• We will meet suppliers to understand how our processes affect them.
• We are asking regular customers what they value most about our service.
  

• We will speak to customers face to face at upcoming review meetings.
• We are collecting detailed feedback to identify specific service gaps.
• We will ask customers what they expect from us over the next year.
• Over the next two weeks, we will speak to 20 customers and record their feedback to guide our service improvements.
• When we talk to those affected, we’ll get them on-side

While each of these phrases is slightly longer than the ‘stakeholder engagement’ phrase, they are all more useful to the listener or reader.  While the ‘stakeholder’ phrase is meaningless, each of the alternatives uses clearer language and is more explicit about who is doing what and why.

What to do Next

So, from now on, whenever you write something, challenge yourself with the questions:

• Who does this involve?
• What will happen?
• How does it work?

Then pick your nouns and verbs carefully.  When you select the right language, you’ll be a much better communicator.

Get Support to Improve Your Communication Skills

If you want to improve your presentation skills, writing skills or general communication skills, get in touch.  We run intensive half-day workshops in your offices that will help you become a much more effective business communicator.

Our team of expert coaches have been doing this for over 15 years and the results are outstanding. Get in touch today either by calling Louise Angus on +44 20 7018 0922 or click the red button.

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For 15+ years we’ve been the trusted choice for leading businesses and executives throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East. We’ll help you improve corporate presentations through presentation coaching, public speaking training and expert advice on pitching to investors.

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