I have read dozens of academic papers, I am often struck by how they morph into technical jargon and long words. I was told by one lecturer that they have to be impenetrable “it’s what’s expected”! Heck, I even wrote one myself on limits and incentives in letters of intent (available for a fee from Emerald).
One that is relevant, and you have to love the sheer hutzpah in its title, is “Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly” (Oppenheimer). This paper is short, detailed and somewhat tricky to read, but it has a serious message:
needless complexitry leads to negative evaluations… write clearly and simply if you can, and you’ll be more likely to be thought of as intelligent.
We know that clarity leads to better trust, higher confidence and great likeability. All these are key to completing the know like and trust cycle which takes a contact from prospect to client.
And what is the document which takes a contact from prospect to client? The contract.
What should you do?
Why not use this message and write your contracts clearly and simply – this will mean your prospects will think better of you and are more likely to say YES?
