It’s OK to Use Contractions in Your Proposals

When I was in school in the 80’s, formal business writing precluded the use of contractions. When I got my first job, contractions were not permitted there, either. But that makes sense because, after all, everything else was also formal.

The office dress code mandated everyone wore formal business attire; suits, ties, and dresses were the norm. We all looked like we were on our way to a wedding or a funeral. In that formal environment, no one dared end a sentence with a preposition or use a contraction. We would have been labeled counter-culture hippies.

Over time, all of that changed. First, formal dress codes gave way to casual Fridays. Then casual Fridays gave way to casual every day. Our dress was becoming more relaxed and casual, and over time, our language and our writing relaxed along with it. And as it did, the use of contractions became permissible.

In today’s relatively informal business environment, not using contractions seems as awkward as using contractions would have seemed back when everything else was formal.

The message is this; it’s OK to use contractions in your writing. Just make sure you know the difference between it’s and its.