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A
Man of Adverbs
I met a young man who by his conversation
and dress gave the impression of someone who could easily
climb a career ladder. Then, I read some of his reports and
e-mails.
For the most part, they were a mind dump of
things he found interesting in his job. Not only did they
require the reader to travel through a meandering stream of
information to reach the final point, but the sentences themselves
were filled with “fluff.”
He was a man of adverbs. Every verb came with
a descriptor that instead of making the thoughts forceful
only made them appear bombastic and weak. Projects were “aligned
nicely with organizational goals.” Teams would “work
actively and co-operatively to support the program.”
His unit would be “totally involved in the transition.”
Business writing is all about subjects and
verbs. Adverbs and adjectives help to make sentences more
interesting, but they should be used with care. In these instances,
“nicely,” “actively,” “co-operatively,”
and “totally” are not measurable. They don’t
add to the meaning.
My young
friend would have written more strongly if he had eliminated
them all together: Projects were “aligned with organizational
goals.” Teams would “work to support the program.”
His unit would be “involved in the transition.”
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