Use plain words
Don’t use transparent when you can use clear. Don’t say automobile when you can say car, nor utilize when use is enough. Later in this handbook there is a list of words with alternatives. Use the list as a starting point, not a definitive thesaurus.

If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well.
—Albert Einstein

I’d like to show you a letter that demonstrates just how straightforward writing can be, even when the reader is educated and in a position of some authority.

Dear X:
I have decided that I must resign from the company.
As you know, I thought the problems of the company were mishandled. I agreed to stay on after you gave me a promise that you would address my concerns, but I have seen no changes so far. This makes my position impossible.
I am proud of what we have achieved in the past. And I am sorry that it has ended like this.
Yours,
Y¹

It’s polite and concise with no room for misunderstanding.

Using numbers
When you use numbers, round up or down. So, instead of saying 1,050, say 1,000. And instead of 96, say 100. That is, unless the exact number is vital. Usually people will only remember an approximate number and are more likely to remember it if it is easy to do so.

Tables are very difficult for many people to read. A pie chart graph is a little easier than a column-style graph, as long as there are not too many slices. Keep the information simple. Colours help (but be careful if the document will be photocopied in black and white, as all the colours will end up as shades of grey).

Sleep on it
By the way, if you find you are stuck and are not managing to simplify your words as you would like, try sleeping on the problem. A few nights away from your document will nearly always make answers come more easily. Sleep researchers confirm this. As Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher at Harvard medical school, put it, “Sleep seems to nail down the information we have and reorganize the way it is stored in the brain.”^{Footnote 2}