NORRIQ Writing Guide
Write like a person who knows the subject and respects the reader's time. NORRIQ's voice is direct, plain, and outcome-focused. "Your Business - Simplified" is the tagline; the writing should match it.
Voice
- Direct. Say what you mean in the fewest words that are still clear.
- Outcome-focused. Talk about what the customer gets, not what the product does.
- Plain. If a simpler word works, use it. "Use" not "utilize." "Help" not "facilitate."
- Confident without bragging. State what we do. Skip superlatives.
Banned AI patterns
These are the patterns that make text read as machine-generated. Remove all of them.
Banned punctuation
- Em dash (-) is banned. Use a comma, semicolon, period, or rewrite.
Banned words
Replace with plain equivalents or cut entirely.
| Avoid |
Use instead |
| delve, leverage, utilize |
explore, use, use |
| foster, bolster, underscore |
support, strengthen, highlight |
| streamline, enhance, facilitate |
simplify, improve, help |
| robust, comprehensive, pivotal |
strong, complete, key |
| seamless, cutting-edge, innovative |
smooth, modern, new |
| transformative, holistic, multifaceted |
significant, complete, complex |
| furthermore, moreover, indeed |
also, and, (just cut it) |
| notwithstanding, that being said |
despite, but, however |
| it's important to note that |
(cut it, just state the thing) |
| in today's fast-paced world |
(cut the whole phrase) |
| in the ever-changing landscape of |
in |
Banned constructions
- "Not only... but also..." Just state both things.
- "Whether you're a [X], [Y], or [Z]..." Never.
- "It's not X, it's Y" State your point directly.
- "Here's the thing:" / "The bottom line:" Just say it.
- Rhetorical questions answered immediately. "The fix? Simple." Ask a real question or make the statement.
- Rule of three. "Fast, efficient, and reliable." Two items or four. Three is the AI default.
- Staccato fragments. "That's the problem. The real problem." Once in a long piece, maybe. Otherwise no.
- Exclamation marks. State facts. No cheerleading.
Banned openers and closers
- "In today's..." / "In an era of..." / "In the realm of..."
- "Let's dive in" / "Let's explore"
- "In conclusion..." / "To sum up..." / "At the end of the day..."
- "By [doing X], you can [achieve Y]..."
Hedging
AI hedges 4-7x more than humans. Watch for:
- "may potentially", "might be able to", "could possibly"
- "it seems", "it appears that", "one could argue"
Either it happens or it doesn't. If genuinely uncertain, say "we don't know yet" once and move on.
Danish-specific rules
These apply when writing in Danish.
- Use common Danish, not consultant-Danish. "Hjælper virksomheder" not "faciliterer virksomheders digitale transformation."
- Avoid direct anglicism when a Danish word works. "Forbedre" not "optimere" when you mean improve. "Gennemgang" not "review" when writing Danish prose.
- Keep sentences short. Danish business writing already tends toward long compound sentences. Break them up.
- "Vi hjælper" is the NORRIQ pattern. We help. Not "vi muliggør", not "vi driver", not "vi accelererer."
English-specific rules
- Use active voice. "We built the integration" not "The integration was built."
- No academic phrasing. "Before" not "prior to." "About" not "pertaining to." "Because" not "in light of."
- Short paragraphs. Three to five sentences max. One-sentence paragraphs are fine.
Slides and presentations
The same rules apply to PowerPoint, Google Slides, and any presentation format. Extra rules:
- One idea per slide. If you need "and" in the slide title, split it.
- Slide titles are statements, not topics. "Migration cut downtime by 40%" not "Migration Results."
- No walls of text. Bullet points max 8 words each. If you need a paragraph, it belongs in the speaker notes.
- Same banned words apply. "Comprehensive solution" on a slide is worse than in prose because it's the only thing on screen.
Self-review checklist
Run this before sending any text, slide deck, or document.
- Search for em dash. Remove every one.
- Scan for banned words from the table above. Replace with plain equivalents.
- Scan for banned constructions and openers/closers. Cut them.
- Count hedging words per paragraph. More than two in one paragraph is too many.
- Check every sentence: does it end on something concrete, or just assert importance?
- Read it aloud. If it sounds like a press release, rewrite it to sound like a person.
- Is every paragraph roughly the same length? Vary them.
- Check for exclamation marks. Remove them.
- Would your colleague skim past this? If yes, it's too long. Cut.
- Run steps 1-9 again. Banned words creep back in.
Sources
For deeper reading on why these rules exist: references/sources.md
1---2name: norriq-writing3description: Writing guide for NORRIQ content. Kills AI tells, enforces plain language in Danish and English. Use for any customer-facing text, internal docs, PR descriptions, emails, or posts.4---56# NORRIQ Writing Guide78Write like a person who knows the subject and respects the reader's time. NORRIQ's voice is direct, plain, and outcome-focused. "Your Business - Simplified" is the tagline; the writing should match it.910## Voice1112- **Direct.** Say what you mean in the fewest words that are still clear.13- **Outcome-focused.** Talk about what the customer gets, not what the product does.14- **Plain.** If a simpler word works, use it. "Use" not "utilize." "Help" not "facilitate."15- **Confident without bragging.** State what we do. Skip superlatives.1617## Banned AI patterns1819These are the patterns that make text read as machine-generated. Remove all of them.2021### Banned punctuation22- **Em dash (-)** is banned. Use a comma, semicolon, period, or rewrite.2324### Banned words2526Replace with plain equivalents or cut entirely.2728| Avoid | Use instead |29|---|---|30| delve, leverage, utilize | explore, use, use |31| foster, bolster, underscore | support, strengthen, highlight |32| streamline, enhance, facilitate | simplify, improve, help |33| robust, comprehensive, pivotal | strong, complete, key |34| seamless, cutting-edge, innovative | smooth, modern, new |35| transformative, holistic, multifaceted | significant, complete, complex |36| furthermore, moreover, indeed | also, and, (just cut it) |37| notwithstanding, that being said | despite, but, however |38| it's important to note that | (cut it, just state the thing) |39| in today's fast-paced world | (cut the whole phrase) |40| in the ever-changing landscape of | in |4142### Banned constructions4344- **"Not only... but also..."** Just state both things.45- **"Whether you're a [X], [Y], or [Z]..."** Never.46- **"It's not X, it's Y"** State your point directly.47- **"Here's the thing:"** / **"The bottom line:"** Just say it.48- **Rhetorical questions answered immediately.** "The fix? Simple." Ask a real question or make the statement.49- **Rule of three.** "Fast, efficient, and reliable." Two items or four. Three is the AI default.50- **Staccato fragments.** "That's the problem. The real problem." Once in a long piece, maybe. Otherwise no.51- **Exclamation marks.** State facts. No cheerleading.5253### Banned openers and closers5455- "In today's..." / "In an era of..." / "In the realm of..."56- "Let's dive in" / "Let's explore"57- "In conclusion..." / "To sum up..." / "At the end of the day..."58- "By [doing X], you can [achieve Y]..."5960### Hedging6162AI hedges 4-7x more than humans. Watch for:63- "may potentially", "might be able to", "could possibly"64- "it seems", "it appears that", "one could argue"6566Either it happens or it doesn't. If genuinely uncertain, say "we don't know yet" once and move on.6768## Danish-specific rules6970These apply when writing in Danish.7172- **Use common Danish, not consultant-Danish.** "Hjælper virksomheder" not "faciliterer virksomheders digitale transformation."73- **Avoid direct anglicism when a Danish word works.** "Forbedre" not "optimere" when you mean improve. "Gennemgang" not "review" when writing Danish prose.74- **Keep sentences short.** Danish business writing already tends toward long compound sentences. Break them up.75- **"Vi hjælper"** is the NORRIQ pattern. We help. Not "vi muliggør", not "vi driver", not "vi accelererer."7677## English-specific rules7879- **Use active voice.** "We built the integration" not "The integration was built."80- **No academic phrasing.** "Before" not "prior to." "About" not "pertaining to." "Because" not "in light of."81- **Short paragraphs.** Three to five sentences max. One-sentence paragraphs are fine.8283## Slides and presentations8485The same rules apply to PowerPoint, Google Slides, and any presentation format. Extra rules:8687- **One idea per slide.** If you need "and" in the slide title, split it.88- **Slide titles are statements, not topics.** "Migration cut downtime by 40%" not "Migration Results."89- **No walls of text.** Bullet points max 8 words each. If you need a paragraph, it belongs in the speaker notes.90- **Same banned words apply.** "Comprehensive solution" on a slide is worse than in prose because it's the only thing on screen.9192## Self-review checklist9394Run this before sending any text, slide deck, or document.95961. Search for em dash. Remove every one.972. Scan for banned words from the table above. Replace with plain equivalents.983. Scan for banned constructions and openers/closers. Cut them.994. Count hedging words per paragraph. More than two in one paragraph is too many.1005. Check every sentence: does it end on something concrete, or just assert importance?1016. Read it aloud. If it sounds like a press release, rewrite it to sound like a person.1027. Is every paragraph roughly the same length? Vary them.1038. Check for exclamation marks. Remove them.1049. Would your colleague skim past this? If yes, it's too long. Cut.10510. Run steps 1-9 again. Banned words creep back in.106107## Sources108109For deeper reading on why these rules exist: [references/sources.md](references/sources.md)
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