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We were doing one of our writing workshops in London earlier this month. One of the most illuminating exercises we do is headline appraisal. May sound dull, but it’s actually good fun. We take a bunch of headlines from local, national and trade press, and discuss what makes some of them work and why some of them just leave us cold.

Now, there are probably dozens of different ‘formulas’ for headlines, but we’re not big fans of formulas at Wordsworks. We prefer to keep our business copywriting plain and simple. And with headlines that means keeping it specific.

Take this headline: ‘Why writing skills are key.’

It’s OK I suppose. It does a job. But it’s vague. It leaves me thinking, key to what?

Try making it more specific:

‘Why writing skills are key to attracting more clients.’

Now that’s immediately going to grab my interest. But you can take it further still. As well as being specific, qualify the statement, too:

‘Why writing skills are key to attracting more high-paying clients.’

Its short, specific and clearly explains to readers why they should carry on reading. If you can make all your headlines do that, you’re half way there.

Anyone who subscribes to Write Words, our tips newsletter for better writing for business, knows how we feel about conciseness.

Conciseness is the foundation on which all good business writing is built, while wordiness and unnecessary verbosity are the enemies of clear, effective communication.

It’s not only us that say that, honest! Check out this great post on Vigorous Writing by Jesse Hines, another writing blogger waving the flag for better written communication.

Since when did revert mean the same thing as reply? In business communication, the use of ‘revert’ in emails is becoming scarily prevalent - e.g. ‘Please revert as soon as you have obtained a copy of the contract.’

It seems to be a classic case of over-inflated language, deliberately used to try and sound more impressive. Well it doesn’t sound more impressive. It sounds silly. And pompous. And just plain incorrect. What’s the matter with reply? It’s shorter. It’s easily understood. It’s language we use every day.

Does anyone actually use ‘revert’ anywhere other than work? I mean, when was the last time you ‘reverted’ to a letter from your granny? Or used ‘revert’ in a normal, non-work conversation with your pals?

The foundation of effective business writing is clear, concise, simple language. So, please, can we all stop reverting and get back to replying?

Could politicians finally be getting the message that clarity trumps jargon every time?

The Local Government Association (LGA) has issued a list of the 100 most over-used buzzwords, including such gems as “step change”, “holistic” “sustainable” and “synergies”, and asked local councils to stop using them.

LGA chairman Sir Simon Milton said that if councils did not explain things in proper English, “local people will fail to understand its relevance to them or why they should to turn out and vote. Unless information is given to people to explain why their council matters, then local democracy will be threatened with extinction.”

Extinction may be pushing it, but certainly, talking to people in clear, plain English instead of hiding behind buzzwords, jargon and bluster might help retain people’s interest, rather than turning them off politics at both the national and local level.