13 responses to ‘dumbing-down’ writing
A baker’s dozen arguments to tap into when someone accuses you of oversimplifying your writing—along with one common retort you probably should skip.
The most common objection my clients make to clear, concise writing is that making stuff easy to understand is dumbing down.
The question fellow writers ask me most often is “how do I persuade my clients being clear and concise isn’t dumbing down?”
Here’s what I tell them:
1. No one will ever complain that a piece of writing’s too easy to read
I’ve written for derivatives experts, lawyers, economists, Cambridge academics.
Not one of them has ever said: “Gee, I wish I’d had to concentrate more when reading that.”
2. In the words of leading junk mail writer, Andy Maslen: There’s no such thing as B2B-lish
Here’s why. Take a look at this list of just some of the things a non-business type would rather do than read your copy:
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