Eliminate “Necessary”​ and “Unnecessary”​ for Better Communication in Writing

I forgot the number of times in private and corporate communications that I came across expressions, directions, or statements that went something like this:

“All unnecessary travel requests should be postponed until further notice.”

Even in articles, web posts, and books it’s not unusual to hit sentences like the following:

“Secure the necessary clearance from the system admin before porting to P80.”

“Fill in the necessary fields to complete your registration.”

Necessary… WHAT?

2 Results of Ambiguity

Such ambiguity leads to one of the following:

1. A new email or phone call to understand exactly what the definition of “necessary” or “unnecessary” is.
2. In cases where the author is not available (if, for example, you’re reading a book), a lot of head-scratching, self-doubt, and agitation whether you are about to do the right thing or not. The result is needless cognitive-load and poor communications; lower productivity and efficiency.

Don’t-Make-Them-Think

Always be specific and don’t leave your readers twisting in the wind.

Remember the golden rule of all communication: Don’t-Make-Them-Think.

When the reader starts to think about what your communication means, you’ve lost them already.

Good communication is transparent communication, so transparent that it comes across as obvious, self-evident.

Using the qualifiers “necessary” and “unnecessary” makes the readers think. Those two modifiers inhibit immediate comprehension, lead to needless follow-ups, and reduce information retention.

The Reason Why

Replace “necessary” and “unnecessary” with concrete, specific details. The solution is as simple as that.

So why don’t we do that in the first place?

Laziness.

We don’t want to do the upfront work on behalf of our readers. We defer clarity to the reading phase. We postpone comprehension and clarity to the backend of the writing-reading chain.

Instead of taking our time and clarifying our modifiers, we shovel the ambiguous statement over the wire and expect the reader to do our work for us. It’s a lack of respect for the recipient’s time.

Examples

Instead of “All unnecessary travel requests should be postponed until further notice,” try:

“All travel requests over $2000 or requiring more than 3 days of hotel stay will not be approved until further notice.”

Instead of “Secure the necessary clearance from the system admin before porting to P80,” how about this:

“Secure A4-level clearance from the system admin before porting to P80. For more info, please refer to our Access Guidelines (Jan 2020, Version 2.0) document.”

Why not replace “Fill in the necessary fields to complete your registration” with something like:

“Fill in the mandatory Name, Last Name, and ID Number fields to complete your registration. All other fields are optional.”

Help your readers by spelling out the details of your statements before you hit the Send or Post button and eliminating the twin-evil qualifiers “necessary” and “unnecessary” from your technical and business communications. Your readers will love you for it and pray for your good health and happiness.