One thing matters the most to your audience. They want to read what you write just once and “get it.”
They don’t want to read something twice to understand it. Especially three or four times.
They don’t want their eyes to glaze over.
Don’t ever forget that. You may feel like a safe play is to repeat the jargon and clunky wording of your client, especially if you work for governments.
You don’t have to use the words “leverage” or “utilize.” Steer clear of writing “cascading messaging” and “value proposition” and “lean in.”
Don’t do it. It’s annoying and unnecessary.
There’s a reason governments are on “plain language” kicks.
The Atlantic magazine even had a March Madness-style playoff of worst corporate buzzwords. Funny stuff … in a sad sort of way.
Don’t try and sound intelligent when you write because chances are you will lose your audience with big words and lots of commas. There’s a reason you like reading “Good Night Moon” or “The Cat in the Hat” to your kids.
You want to help people. You want to make things easy for them.
Short words. Short sentences. Short paragraphs. White space.
Repeat that formula.