A skilled communicator on my team once banned all uses of the word “that” in speech and writing. He enforced the rule with vigor.
Seem unreasonable? It changed the way I use the English language, for the better.
“That” is an unnecessary word, it adds no meaning or clarity to the written language. Why would we weigh sentences down with unnecessary words? Public Affairs folks ought not be in the business of lazy English.
Try it. Take the first line of one of our must-reads, “Politics and the English Language.”
“Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it.”
Now, read the same sentence without the two instances of “that.” Did the statement lose any meaning?
Finding “that” in your writing? Two recommendations:
1.) Replace it with a more precise or descriptive word. Example: “That behavior is unacceptable in our formations.” You’re counting on your audience having listened to and understood your earlier sentences. Just say, “Disrespectful behavior…” and the statement stands alone.
2.) Cut it for concise communication. “Did you know that 83 percent of statistics are made up?” Your audience understands the sentence without “that” and will thank you for cutting the filler.
Bill’s war against “that” eliminated the word from my writing, and led me to seek and destroy all unnecessary words. When we are focused enough on our words to make sure we aren’t writing “that,” then we’re focused enough to cut other wasteful words, too.
Read up on other MaxDis banned words and topics.
Word nerd like us? Great. The Internet has even more about banning “that” and other unnecessary words. Talk about it with your team. Some of these articles attempt to justify sometimes using “that” but MaxDis challenges you to cut the word and rephrase every time*:
- https://www.bkacontent.com/avoid-overusing-word-writing/
- https://dianaurban.com/words-you-should-cut-from-your-writing-immediately
- https://www.syntaxis.com/blog/is-that-that-really-all-that-necessary
- https://www.dailywritingtips.com/five-words-you-can-cut/
*As always, break all rules when it would be barbarous to follow them.
(Photo by Seaman Apprentice Sophie Pinkham, DVIDS)
