Passive voice generates ponderous, unclear communications

Chances are, you’ve read this in school:

“This Constitution for the United States of America has been ordained and established by us the people of the United States, in order that a perfect union might be formed, justice be established, domestic tranquility be ensured, the common defense be provided for, the general welfare be promoted, and blessings of liberty be secured to ourselves and our posterity.”

Well, not exactly. This is the preamble of the U.S. Constitution, but it’s in passive voice. Sounds like mush, doesn’t it?

Avoiding passive voice is important when it comes to writing clear, readable content. And while passive voice is abundantly common, it can make your writing sound stale, unclear and devoid of humanity.

In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is passive, that is, it’s not performing the action. Instead, the subject is receiving the action. For example, instead of saying, “The car ran over the bottle,” you might write the passive, “The bottle was run over by the car.”

Note that the latter produces a much less-vivid mental picture than the former. There’s a reason Shakespeare wrote, “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?” as opposed to, “Shall a summer’s day be compared to thee?”

In addition to making your writing less direct and readable, passive voice can also sow confusion and make it more difficult for readers to understand just who's doing what in your sentences. Passive sentences also tend to be longer and less interesting than active sentences.

Use active voice whenever possible. While passive voice isn't grammatically incorrect, the alternative is almost always better. Make sure your sentences contain a doer that is performing an action. Write, “The outfielder caught the fly near the fence,” not, “The fly was caught by the outfielder near the fence.” Write, “The girl was walking the cocker spaniel,” not, “The cocker spaniel was being walked by the girl.”

Your content will be much more engaging and lucid. Plus, you’ll get your point across with greater efficiency.

Remember that Z Corp PR & Digital can help you with your business communications. Whether it’s writing, social media, graphic design, video or websites – we’re experts and we’re happy to handle it for you. Give us a call at (321) 213-1818.