Leadership requires clarity of thought, speech and writing. But all too often business executives fall into the trap of using (and overusing) corporate buzzwords – ‘deep dive’, ‘move the needle’, ‘outside the box’ – and filling their emails and documents with obfuscating jargon.

Former speechwriter to Tony Blair, Philip Collins argues that ‘business is a simple enterprise made complex by people who do it badly’. His new book, To Be Clear: A Style Guide for Business Writing, is a call to arms, urging businesses to stop using the language of nonsense and start communicating with clarity, simplicity and meaning. 

In this special live recording of the No Bullsh*t Leadership podcast hosted by CEO of Havas Creative, Chris Hirst, we explored how business writing has changed over time, how business executives can practically cut through the bullsh*t that has become orthodox, and how we can all wield language to become better leaders. 

Subscribe and listen here to previous episodes of the No Bullsh*t Leadership podcast with guests including the sporting legend and former rugby coach Clive Woodward; CEO of Reckitt Laxman Narasimhan; Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves; the BBC’s Head of Creative Diversity June Sarpong; and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.