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Empty introductions, hedges and modifiers are a few of the enemies of brevity. Maybe your readers could enjoy long-winded beginnings if they had the time, but hey, the light’s green. Watch out for:

1. Empty Introductions

People often tack empty introductions to their points, perhaps because they fear that their point will not be well received. Unfortunately, vacuous introductory phrases are more likely to annoy than to placate your reader. Even worse, these phrases imply that you are insecure or uncertain of your point. Avoid introductions like these:

the truth is that

it seems to me

apparently

it is obvious that

as I recall

the fact is that

I also want to say that

and all their meaningless cousins.

2. Hedges and Modifiers

We also fatten up our work by hedging our points with namby-pamby modifiers like:

very pretty

little rather

almost likely

more or less seemingly

somewhat kind of

mostly it would seem

in some respects for the most part

apparently for all intents and purposes

What’s wrong with hedges and modifiers? They block your points. If you are making a valid point clearly, then it is "apparent" "for all intents and purposes." As for words like "very" and "little", notice as you read whether they really add anything to your comprehension, other than an uncomfortable sense that the writer is "protesting too much."

Follow the advice of Strunk and White in their classic Elements of Style: "Cut! Cut! Cut!"

Worktalk can help you communicate powerfully and purposefully. If you need to perfect your core correspondence, create web-site content that works, or train your staff to write clearly, we can help you.