Business English and the passive voice - exercise
| Active | Passive | |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | Mr Smith writes the delivery notes. | The delivery notes are written (by Mr Smith). |
| Present Progressive | Mr Smith is writing the delivery notes. | The delivery notes are being written (by Mr Smith). |
| Simple Past | Mr Smith wrote the delivery notes. | The delivery notes were written (by Mr Smith). |
| Present Perfect | Mr Smith has written the delivery notes. | The delivery notes have been written (by Mr Smith). |
| Past Perfect | Mr Smith had written the delivery notes. | The delivery notes had been written (by Mr Smith). |
| Future | Mr Smith will write the delivery notes. | The delivery notes will be written (by Mr Smith). |
| Ausiliary Verbs | Mr Smith must write the delivery notes. | The delivery notes must be written (by Mr Smith). |
1. Focus on the ‘what,’ and not ‘who’
Sometimes you want your reader to focus on an action or the result of an action, not who or what caused it. The passive voice is helpful when the:
‘Who’ distracts from the plot
Here’s an excerpt from ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’: “The police were summoned, and the whole of Little Hangleton had seethed with shocked curiosity…”
For this story, readers only need to know that the police were summoned, not who called them.
‘Who’ is implied
When you invite guests over, and it’s time to eat, all you need to say is, “Dinner is served.” The “I’m serving dinner” is implied.
Let’s consider another example.
Active Voice: Medication non-adherence caused an adverse event.
Passive Voice: An adverse event was caused due to medication non-adherence. In this case, both versions work. You don’t need to say “medication non-adherence by a patient,” because it’s implied. Figure out what the central focus of your message is, the medication non-adherence or the adverse event, and choose your voice accordingly.
2. Being diplomatic
The active voice is great for most communication, including direct marketing copy (emails, landing pages, product pages, and brochures), blogs, and content targeted towards a primarily North American audience.
Sometimes you may need to water down your writing to:
Offer feedback or suggest corrective action gently.
The Passive works well when your target audience has some level of authority and doesn’t have to listen to you. Examples include customers, senior management, or government agencies.
Also, rely on the passive voice to communicate with cultures where a direct tone may be interpreted as disrespect.
Active Voice: Your company did not pay last month’s invoice.
Passive Voice: Payment for last month’s invoice has not been received.
Removing the “your company” tones down the accusatory vibe and focuses on the payment due.
Tone down the ‘salesiness’
When sensitivity or compassion is required — for healthcare, therapy or counseling, funeral services, or elder care — the passive voice can help neutralize your tone.
Active Voice: Drug companies cannot say, “Say goodbye to diabetes!” It’s inaccurate and insensitive.
Passive Voice: Here’s an example of how global pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk uses the passive voice to talk about their innovations: “Life changes after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes,” and “What if medicines injected by millions could be delivered in tablets?”
3. Deeper meaning to convey expertise
Often, in industries with a highly skilled workforce, your content needs to:
- Inform, educate, and persuade, and
- Send trust-us-we’re-experts vibes.
This is why you’ll find the passive voice used more in Business-to-Business (B2B) or Direct-to-Business (D2B) communication in fields like finance, healthcare, management consulting, legal, regulatory, and academia.