Yesterday I asked Sarah Fox, the 500 word lawyer and advocate for plain English in legal writing, about whether there truly was a problem with clarity in the legal profession.

Today I ask Sarah about the benefits of writing clearly.

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The benefits of effective writing are clear.

They are:

1. Action: when your reader understands the next steps you want her to take, she’s more likely to do so; the clearer your writing, the quicker your reader can understand and act upon what she’s read.

2. Boldness: good communication builds trust, and helps your reader believe in you and your conclusions; a bold message is easily grasped.

3. Credibility: it inspires confidence in both the reader and the writer – clear writing is evidence of clear thinking.

4. Efficient: effective writing is succinct. Shorter documents are more likely to be read, create fewer misunderstandings and less frustration for your readers. Badly-written communications lead to increased administration, as well as loss of clients, projects or more disputes.

(Read more here from James Hurford)

Effective writing is simple. It involves two distinct aspects of knowledge and skills – learning what to write and how to write.

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Tomorrow I will be asking Sarah about “how” – how we can all write better.

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And if you would like to learn more from Sarah herself, come along to our KN-UK session on 14th June in Birmingham. Book via Eventbrite or email me for an invoice.