'THREE Ps' ARE GUIDELINES FOR CLEAR WRITING
Write tightly, write clearly. Good advice, but how?
The Thomson Foundation, an international training organisation, has identified the “three Ps” – passengers, parasites and piffle.
This approach, adopted by Pulford Media, is one of the most popular parts of our courses. It’s the idea that attendees are likely to remember.
Passengers are redundant words. They sit there taking up space. They haven’t earned their passage.
Parasites are overdone expressions. These clichés were fresh once upon a time – but so was that living room suite that is fit only for the dump.
Piffle is long-winded wording. Simpler language simply communicates better. Businesses and officialdom and even some journalists often seem to be in a conspiracy to hide their meaning from the public.
Here are some examples:
PASSENGERS (the words in italics). Future prospects. Involved in a car crash. Quite unique. Totally destroyed.
PARASITES. Given the green light. Lend a helping hand. Up in arms. Worse for wear.
PIFFLE. Adverse weather conditions (bad weather). Initiate discussions (start talks). Human resource downsizing (job cuts). Merger synergies (job cuts).
Practising the three Ps DOES NOT mean draining our writing of colour and variety. These come from the ideas and the information we put into our articles, not from tired and empty words.
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