Four Years Since "The 'May I Not' Ban": How Have Japanese Business Documents Changed?

The "May I Not Be Allowed to..." Ban (February 20, 2020)

Web Dentsu Inc. News 10th Anniversary Retrospective Project: This installment focuses on the "Word Diet" series, which challenged overly complicated writing and ineffective communication common in business settings!

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"May I consult with you?"
"I would appreciate it if I could confirm with you"
"I would be grateful if I could report to you"

...Emails written like this started popping up everywhere.

Peeking at social media posts from colleagues

"I was honored to be awarded for the work I was entrusted with!"

...posts like that pop up here and there.

Turn on the TV, and celebrities are saying things like

"We'd like to announce that we've gotten married,"

...at press conferences.

Everywhere you look, it's "I have been given the opportunity to..." everywhere. Why has the world become like this? The underlying psychology is "I don't want to be disliked."

(Excerpt from Part 2 of the series: " The 'May I Be Permitted to...?' Ban ")

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This series began in early 2020, right as the world was entering the COVID-19 pandemic. Copywriter Yukio Hashiguchi, the author, looks back on this series that went viral on the old Twitter (now X) and garnered widespread sympathy.

• Read the "Word Diet" series here

<Table of Contents>
▼ "Word Diet" Resonated Far Beyond Expectations

▼ Regrets About Ignoring "Proposal Literature"

▼ How Have Business Documents Changed Since the Pandemic?

▼ Question the "Obvious" and Take That Courageous Step!

The "Word Diet" That Resonated Far Beyond Expectations

The "Ban on 'May I Have the Honor of...?'" article went viral on Twitter (now X). I look back, recalling the feeling at the time.

After the article was published, notifications for retweets and likes kept coming in nonstop, and the book's Amazon ranking kept climbing. It was even featured in a client's internal newsletter, and I was stunned by the sheer volume of response.

This reaffirmed my belief: even people who routinely use such phrases aren't doing so because they think it's good—they're using them reluctantly.

In my experience, once something goes viral beyond a certain point, you start getting opposing or negative opinions that don't seem to have read the content. But for this article, it was overwhelmingly just voices of agreement saying, "Thank you for saying that." Getting only positive reactions from a social media buzz is not something that happens very often.

It shows just how many people had doubts about overly formal business language like " " or "させていただきます."

My regret for overlooking "proposal literature"

Ever since starting my career, I've always wondered, "Why does everyone write such hard-to-read sentences?"

But since most people write incredibly hard-to-read "business documents," I eventually convinced myself, "This is how you have to write at work." I even wondered if finding it hard to read meant I was just not smart enough.

But upon closer observation, truly successful people or those who excel at their jobs don't write like that. So, I decided to boldly abandon the overly complicated business style. Since then, I've been able to work more enjoyably and authentically.

In the book, I call the kind of hard-to-read writing business people tend to produce "proposal literature." For example, sentences like this:

This kind of writing is rampant in Japanese business settings and lowers productivity.

That said, writing this book still took courage. It essentially means criticizing what many people are doing.

What made me decide to write it anyway was a bitter memory from a competitive presentation. The strategy slides created by the Dentsu Inc. team were incredibly hard to read, convoluted, and had become the very definition of "proposal literature."

I thought it was hard to read, but since the strategy part wasn't my area of responsibility, I decided not to meddle and said nothing.

When the presentation finally came, I could clearly see the client starting to get bored during that strategy section. Sure enough, we lost the competitive pitch.

I couldn't shake the frustration from that experience. To never feel that way again, I started speaking up with suggestions like "Wouldn't it be better to do it this way?" even outside my own area of responsibility. At first, I worried people might dislike me... but that wasn't the case at all. Instead, it was welcomed as positive feedback.

Since then, I've been able to work comfortably and authentically. As long as I communicated with courage and respect, there was no problem at all.

This experience became the driving force behind my advocacy for "word dieting."

How have business documents changed since the pandemic?

The "Word Diet" series began in January 2020. It was right as the world was being engulfed by the pandemic.

Telework became widely encouraged, and text-based communication using tools like Teams rapidly spread.

That's why, in the third installment, I urgently proposed the following three rules for the telework era:

In that article, I wrote as follows:

Telework is prompting a reevaluation of useless habits that have persisted out of inertia. Language is one such habit. Words bloated with servile expressions and katakana loanwords no longer cut it.

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This prediction has proven partly right and partly wrong.

First, the accurate part: In tools like Teams, communication is direct—no need for long-winded introductions, just the essential points. Furthermore, reasonable people understand that a simple "like" signifies agreement, eliminating the need for written replies every time.

The proliferation of such chat services has certainly helped achieve a form of verbal dieting in business settings.

But overall, the prediction might have been "wrong." Amid the disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic, hasn't Japanese communication actually deteriorated somewhat?

Haven't you ever felt, when reading official announcements or news reports during the pandemic, "Why do they have to use such convoluted phrasing?" For example, instead of simply saying "We are declaring a state of emergency," they often used phrases like "We are issuing a state of emergency declaration." It seemed like they deliberately chose obscure wording for things everyone wanted to know.

I suspect that in this unprecedented crisis, there's been an overuse of "proposal-style rhetoric" – phrasing designed to avoid being questioned or criticized.

Also, and I've noticed this even before the pandemic, honorific language has become more excessive than when I was young. Back then, we'd call client feedback "returns" or "red marks," but once someone started saying "honorable returns" or "honorable summaries," before long everyone was using those terms. Once honorific language becomes excessive, it's hard to ever go back.

Broadly speaking, the reason for this phenomenon is probably "to avoid being disliked."

If everyone keeps doing this, the world will become increasingly difficult to live in. I think we need to put the brakes on somewhere.

Question what's "taken for granted" and take that courageous first step!
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Actually, this idea of "questioning what's taken for granted" is exactly what I do in my main job as a copywriter.

In terms of providing a fresh perspective by asking, "Isn't that just an assumption?" about things considered common sense, it's no different from what I always do.

My book "Word Diet," written from this perspective, has been read by many people, thanks to you.

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While I primarily intended it for business professionals, I've received interview requests from women's magazines and speaking invitations from various places. It really made me realize there are far more people seeking a word diet than I imagined.

However, even those who resonated with the book seem to find actually practicing word dieting requires courage. I've been told more than once or twice, "I read your 'Ban the 'Let Me Do It' Phrase' book!" (laughs). It sounds like a joke, but it really is difficult.

A common question I get during lectures is, "If I diet my words, won't people think I'm being rude and dislike me?"

But the essence of communication isn't the style; it's the "message you want to convey," right? For example, if the point you want to make in an email is "Please deliver by tomorrow morning," no matter how politely you phrase it, being disliked is unavoidable.

Instead of trying to cover it up with confusing wording, I think you should be prepared to face the possibility of being disliked. Trying too hard to avoid being disliked and ending up with distorted writing is the real problem.

If you still find it hard to take that first step, try just this much:

If you feel tempted to write "I had the honor of doing it," rewrite it as "I did it."

Instead of "I was honored to receive the award," write "I received the award." It doesn't feel rude or sarcastic at all, right?

Why not muster your courage and start a little word diet today?
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