The Hidden Danger of Over-Explaining: Why Too Much Clarity Can Actually Confuse Readers
Does over-explaining contribute to the “Passive Voice Trap”?
Over-explainers often fear being too direct. They use the passive voice to “soften” the delivery or to add what they perceive as professional-sounding weight to a sentence. However, the passive voice usually requires more words and obscures the actor of the sentence.
- Active: “The manager rejected the proposal.” (5 words)
- Passive/Over-explained: “A decision was reached by the manager that the proposal would be rejected based on several factors.” (16 words)
The second version is not clearer; it is simply longer. It uses nominalization—turning the verb “decided” into the clunky noun “decision”—which is a hallmark of over-explanatory writing.
