Even if people do not - agree with you, write so that there may be no doubt about what you are saying. To put a thing into appropriate words so that the message comes through clearly has the virtue of making it seem more real and possible and believable than if you say it mud- dily or smother it under ornament. Words need to be sharp. They must cut through superfluous matter to reveal what you wish to con- vey. Sometimes we feel frustrated by our inability to bend a word to express our exact thought.
Every executive knows how annoying indetermi- nate words can be.
Business and technical writing is dominated by the fact that specific meanings cannot be tampered with. To convey facts like these we must be specific Generalities are acceptable only when they are appropriate. There is no excuse for having a letter come on to the stage with no more liveliness than a wet sponge and then slither out list- lessly as the Yours truly curtain drops. Use of a virile word occasionally in a letter will impart a feeling of your aliveness. Use of active sentences will keep your audience awake.