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

The Naval Postgraduate School

Robert Colucci

The Naval Postgraduate School

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.

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