Well, not quite. They can make you sound pompous, long-winded and old-fashioned.
In most communications today, long words are inappropriate and may confuse your reader.
It all depends on the context, of course. In diplomatic protocol, they may be expected, and high-level correspondence is usually full of them.
If you’re writing an email to a colleague, specialist audience or a client, or addressing a general audience, choosing shorter words will make the text easier to skim.
Test yourself
The following are some multisyllabic (= long!) frequently used words in international organizations. See if you can find a shorter alternative.
(For more of these, go to the Plain English Campaign’s website here, and the UK Government’s style guide here.)
- anticipate
- approximately
- authorize
- deliver
- deliverables
- demonstrate
- difficulties
- encounter
- facilitate
- commence
- initiate
- leverage
- modification
- numerous
- participate
- personnel
- regarding
- reimburse
- remuneration
- requested
- requirements
- utilize
Answer key
(Suggestions for informal and general contexts)
- anticipate = expect.
Anticipate usually means taking some action before an event takes place.
For instance:
Anticipating bad weather at the golf event, they took umbrellas.
Anticipating huge delays, we left for the airport very early in the morning.
Anticipating trouble at the Christmas party, we decided not to invite Charly and Marie.
However, as language changes, so does this verb, and it is now commonly being used to mean no more than “expect”.
- approximately = about/around
- authorize = allow/let/permit
- deliver = produce/show results/make/create
- deliverables = outputs
- demonstrate = show/prove
- difficulties = problems
- encounter = meet
- facilitate = run a workshop/help to do something
- commence = start/begin
- initiate = start/begin
- leverage = influence/use
- modification = change
- numerous = some/many
- participate = take part in/join in
- personnel = staff
- regarding = about/on
- reimburse = pay back/repay
- remuneration = pay/salary
- requested = asked for
- requirements = needs/rules
- utilize = use
________________________________________________
Author: Carol Waites
Presentation/editing by Christina O’Shaughnessy
https://worldwidewriting.org/
________________________________________________
Carol Waites (PhD)
Email: carolswritingtips@gmail.com
For more writing tips, consult my website:
https://carolswritingtips.com/writingtips/
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Carol’s memoir of her times at the United Nations, Behind the Flags, is available on Amazon and lulu.com
ISBN 9783952632703 Behind the Flags Amazon
9783952632710 Behind the Flags Black and White Version Amazon (Australia and Japan)
9783952632727 Behind the Flags lulu.com