George Orwell is in the news a lot these days. The primary driver of that activity is his famous novel, 1984. In a lesser-known but equally fascinating essay written by Orwell in 1946, Politics and the English Language, he offers six rules for effective communication. As I re-read them today, they seem as relevant now as they probably were then.
Can I first state that you really must read this essay! Check it out in its entirety at http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit.
It is just so remarkable that while he wrote this piece more than 70 years ago, he complains so bitterly about the usage of careless, confusing and unclear language that I thought it was just written today. In the essay, Orwell states: “Our civilization is decadent and our language must inevitably share in the general collapse.”
Here, according to George Orwell, are the six rules for effective communication and a thought or two on each from me:
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Orwell mentions worn-out metaphors like “stand shoulder-to-shoulder,” “toe the line,” “ride roughshod over,” “Achilles’ heel,” and many others as examples of over-used metaphors that have lost their meaning. Take the time to create your own phrases that can evoke the kind of “visual image” you are trying to achieve. Do we think we have any over-used metaphors in the security market?
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do. True that.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. In today’s busy times, try to communicate while visualizing people being able to read what you have to say on a smartphone screen without scrolling.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. “The dog ate my work assignment” is much better than “my work assignment was eaten by the dog.”
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. The phrase “faux pas” seems to be used ad nauseam to the point where it is now a bona fide problem. See what I did there?
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say or do anything outright barbarous. What exactly does it mean to not be outright barbarous? Well, it could mean to not be harsh or cruel and try not to show a lack of culture. You know, like when the nuns used to tell me not to eat with my fingers while my elbows were perched on the table. Don’t do that and don’t write like that.
Orwell did begin his guidelines with some really good advice: “Probably it is better to put off using words as long as possible and get one’s meaning as clear as one can through pictures and sensations. Afterward one can choose – not simply accept – the phrases that will best cover the meaning.”
Not only does this practice get us closer to using clear, specific, concrete language, but it results in writing that grounds our readers in the sensory world we all share to some degree, rather than the airy word of abstract thought and belief that we do not.
You just have to love this level of passion for the written word. It is timeless and it proves the point that clear, concise and effective communication never goes out of style.
Ric McCullough is vice president of sales and customer service for PSA Security Network. To request more information about PSA, please visit www.securityinfowatch.com/10214742.
