Your Bad Habits Are Invisible — To You!

Think of the associate who always interrupts — at meetings, social gatherings, or water-fountain chats. Or that vice president who shouts instead of talks. They are not aware of their bad habits. And you aren’t about to point them out. Rather, you walk past their offices a little faster to avoid contact or end conversations a little sooner than necessary.

The parallel with writing is clear. You’re unaware of the tired word use that makes your language as exciting as Brady Bunch reruns or the wordiness that adds pounds to every paragraph. But the problems are certainly there. Of course, your typical readers won’t pick up your document and say, “Hum, this sentence is in the passive voice and . . . uh-huh . . . the tone of this article is pompous.” But they’ll have a vague, disturbing sense that the piece isn’t worth reading, and they’ll put it down.
When you speak to your readers later, of course, they won’t say: “Gee, your letter was so poorly structured I couldn’t get past the first paragraph,” or, “I’m calling because your letter had too much jargon for me to understand.” Instead, you exchange polite business conversation, neither of you mentioning your written work.