Linguistics, Style, and Writing in the 21st Century

After watching Linguistics, Style, and Writing in the 21^st Century – with Steven Pinker, there were many takeaways that I have received from this talk. The three that I found best were classic style, active voice, and show a draft to yourself after some time has passed.

Classic style has the model of prose as a window onto the world. This means that the writer has seen something in the world and positions the reader so he/she can see it with their own eyes. In classic style, the reader and writer are equals and the goal is to help the reader see objective reality. This is very useful in business writing especially in a pitch. The writer has a vision for a product or service and they need to persuade the readers to see the value that the writers see which will then give them the confidence to invest.  

The active voice is more direct and vigorous than the passive. A passive voice can be vague and boring whereas an active voice has better flow and is more succinct. An active voice can be used in business writing as the writer should be able to introduce ideas and other information to the reader in a clear and concise manner.

Showing a draft to yourself after some time has passed is a great point as it allows the writer to come back with a fresh perspective. It can be helpful to take a break from writing especially if the document is very long in case there are any errors that were not noticed previously. It also allows for new thoughts to formulate once coming back with a clear head. This can be useful in business writing as the writer is expected to not have any grammatical errors and the concepts should be clear.