Ask anyone (including me) about business writing and you’re bound to get some absolutes. As in: you must keep it simple; you must be brief or concise; you must use short words. Unfortunately, that advice has limits.

Nothing is as absolute as the givers of advice might suggest. In my experience, at least, absolutes tend to reflect the preferences of the person giving the advice and don’t necessarily hold for everyone else and all situations.

When we write (and here’s one of my absolutes coming out), we should know about, and write for, our audience. If you write for professionals, use jargon. For example, if you’re writing for engineers, don’t hesitate to use the language they use. Non-engineers might consider it jargon, but since you’re not writing for them, it doesn’t matter. And, the targeted audience will find your writing easier to understand if it includes engineering jargon. After all, they use it themselves.

If you write how-to tips for computer users, on the other hand, avoid jargon as much as possible. Someone who subscribes to tips probably won’t understand technical language well. Instead, think in terms of everyday words, as well as metaphors and similes.

If you write for well-educated audiences, don’t hesitate to use big words and long sentences. They’ll find it easier to follow your line of reasoning if you don’t make them keep stopping and starting with a series of short sentences.

Obviously, the list could go on. But, the point remains that many so-called business writing rules can, and should, be broken if breaking them makes your message more accessible to your audience.