Was Ernest Hemingway Smarter than a Fifth Grader?

One of the world’s most respected writers, Ernest Hemingway wrote at a fourth grade level, according to this analysis on Contently.com.

The blogger ran samples of Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, as well as samples from other fiction and nonfiction books, through a series of highly regarded Flesch-Kinkaid tests for reading level and reading ease, which Hemingway also mastered in the analysis.

It wasn’t an accident. Hemingway once said, “My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.”

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

Your education and training took a lot of time, money, and dedication. Companies hire you because you’re smart and qualified. Colleagues respect your brilliant insights and opinions in meetings. And you insist on demonstrating that high IQ and business acumen in written communications like emails, presentations, and proposals.

Well, you might as well get lost.

Because that’s exactly what you’re telling the audience when you stuff big words, complex sentences, and business jargon into your writing. If no one understands what you’re saying, you’re on a lonely road to nowhere. There’s no use begging Siri for directions. She can’t understand you either.

Messages must be clear. Words must be simple. Concepts must be within the grasp of the audience you are trying to reach. Some people call this dumbing down. But, if you’re wasting time creating messages that aren’t being understood, who’s the dumb one?

“Let’s face it: Business today is drowning in bullshit.”

That first sentence in the first chapter of the book Why Business People Speak Like Idiots goes on to link complex business language to low comprehension and -- even more troubling – low trustworthiness.

It seems that complex language and business gobbledygook* give the impression that the speaker or author is trying to hide something. They are either lying or simply do not want to tell the truth.

Is it important for CEOs and other executives to be understood and trusted by shareholders, customers and employees?

Clearer communications are a great place to start.

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* For a fun example of business gobbledygook, check out Weird Al Yankovic’s video for the song parody, “Mission Statement.”

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