In Praise of Simple Language

“Our business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargon. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.” — David Ogilvy

I avoid being one of the people Ogilvy’s talking about, the pretentious asses. I resist hurling words like rendezvous or excogitate at my readers. I’m bad at that anyway. Bad at using unnecessary, complex language.

I’ve read Word Power Made Easy. I’ve read dictionaries; not whole but some pages. Still, I don’t spew all the jargon I’ve read — because I know I don’t need to. We all don’t need to.

Using big words is a desperate attempt to look clever. Or superior. And then there may be other vain reasons which don’t matter. Unless they add value, longwinded words must be avoided.

I used to slide complex words in my posts when I started out. I wanted everyone to think of me as … someone better than I was. “Maybe, if I use humongous instead of large, they’d think I’m smart.” Childish, I know. But we all start by making the same mistakes.

That wasn’t required.

If your words force your readers to resort to a dictionary, then it’s problematic. I like the way Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, and Haruki Murakami write.

Maybe not everyone should follow their example, but their work surely speaks volumes about conveying the meaning or story without letting words dilute it. It seems as though there’s an unsaid formula to good writing.

Here’s the formula: Essence > Words

In fiction, it’s the story that matters. In non-fiction, the meaning. In creative briefs, the message to get the desired creative result. The attention must be directed to the core, at the heart of the matter, not words. Shine the spotlight on the essence, not the words.

It’s always about passing the narrative in our heads to others. To create the final impact. To get the job done. Simple language helps in doing so.

Finally, here’s some advice from writing gods

• “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.” — Mark Twain
• “One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” — Jack Kerouac
• “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” — Thomas Jefferson
• “Words in prose ought to express the intended meaning; if they attract attention to themselves, it is a fault; in the very best styles you read page after page without noticing the medium.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge
• “The finest language is mostly made up of simple unimposing words.” — George Eliot
• “The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms.” — George Orwell
• “Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood.” — William Penn
• “Men of few words are the best men.” — William Shakespeare
• “Use the smallest word that does the job.” — E.B. White

Conclusion

The word for big words is sesquipedalian. But a simple term like ‘big words’ makes sense, right? The same applies to all other situations. It works. Every time.