Keep It Simple

Posted by mjces in On Writing, Writing Tip | 0 comments

This I found posted in an elevator:

It says there: Decrease load or number of passengers in order to normalize Elevator operation.

Does it take you too long to digest what that sentence was trying to say? I bet so. When we write sentences, most importantly if we are giving an instruction, be as simple and as direct as you can get.

For that sentence I would rather rewrite it into:

This elevator can only carry 11 people.

Isn’t that better? We don’t need to mention “…to normalize Elevator operation” because it is understood on the word “only”.

I’m sure you guys can make it even simpler and more direct. Give it a shot.