Short words

Short words are good. In fact, they are just as good as the long ones.

You know what they mean, and we can all use them.

Take words like sun, mum, home and fun. They are the ones you love and trust the most.

We’ve known them from birth, and we’ll use them for life.

Short words are sharp. They cut out the crap and keep you on track.

Short words let you dart from one point to the next. Crack a smile, raise a brow, or close a sale. They do it all.

Short words make big things clear. Love and hate, war and peace – they’re night and day. 

You’d be a fool to swap a short word for a long word where its use is the same.

You should still use a long word if it’s what you want to say, just know that big words like to get in the way.

Ask nike.

Or VW.

Ads love short words, as they have a grace and charm that long words lack.

Why make life hard for those who want to hear what you have to say?

Just come right out and say it.

The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed I’ve only used words with one syllable up to this point.

That’s to demonstrate that you can say exactly what you want to say, without waffling or trying to sound clever.

People don’t read as much as they used to. We like short form big hits of information. If you’re a brand, this makes life extremely difficult as we are all competing for the same space.

As we’re progressing more and more into this technological bubble, it’s never been more important to stamp out the nonsense and tell your message in its purest form.

If 10 people are all shouting in the same room, you can guarantee that the person with the shortest, most concise message will be heard.

I’ll leave you with this rather apt Chinese teaching.

Worried about your message?

Trying to decide what you want to say?

Thinking about your choice of words?

Let’s talk about it.