: Re: How should I respond to a supervisor/editor who thinks my technical writing is "too conversational?" My team and I are drafting a technical report to summarize the methods and results of a pilot

@Lengel543

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I'll start with something of a confession - I've been (and often still am) a supervisor who suggests changes to technical reports, instruction manuals and guides to functions which appear to have been written in a conversational style.

It's worth mentioning that there's a huge grey area between obscure and conversational language. In some cases it's as distinct as the formal "set the parameter" as opposed to the conversational "you should set the parameter" (in which case the formal approach is simpler), or using a passive rather than an active voice ("results were observed" instead of "we observed the results"). If your supervisor is suggesting something convoluted, it should be possible to remove that without becoming conversational.

But what this will really come down to is knowledge of the audience. It might be that your supervisor has knowledge of a house style, or the intended audience of the pilot study, which suggests the people reading the study (which may include people inside the organisation) might respond better to a more formal style.

If you believe the audience would respond better to a less formal style, this would be the line of argument that's likely to be the most effective. It's worth pitching this as a positive rather than concentrating on negatives in your supervisor's style - that's rarely a productive approach in a professional environment.

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