An Analysis of Communication Efficiency Between High-Impact and Bureaucratic Written Communication

Abstract

Efficient written communications have become increasingly important to public and private sector managers faced with reading an ever-increasing number of documents. This study asseses the communication efficiency associated with two writing styles: a high-impact style and the traditional bureaucratic style still favored by many managers. A total of 262 naval officers stationed at the Pentagon and abroad ships in the San Diego area participated in this study. The results show that the high-impact style takes 17%-23% less time to read than the bureaucratic style, produces better message comprehension, and is less likely to need rereading.