Be Active With the Passive

Passive voice has received a lot of bad rap for leading to unclear communication. While that may be true, 'clarity' is not the only goal of communication. At times it is also the opposite - to obscure agency, to deflect blame and even to sidestep legal exposure. See some examples :

Economy entered a recession : [Translation] Economy wandered into trouble on its own. Our policy decisions were not responsible for it at all. Don't blame us.

Information was mishandled : [Translation] Classified information ended up in someone's garage. We may or may not have done enough to prevent that. Someone is badly affected, but let us not get into specifics. We won't name names.

Resources were reallocated : [Translation] We can't continue to give you more money, as you did not deliver. Frankly, we don't know if the other guy is any better. At least we appear strategic.

Facts were misrepresented : [Translation] We lied. We got caught. But let us pretend the facts misrepresented themselves.

An unpredicted incident occurred during deployment : [Translation] We knew there were bugs. We didn't expect the server to crash. We just wanted to get paid. Please don't sue us.

Certain processes were not followed : [Translation] Rob left, because we didn't give him a raise. Bob is cheap, but clueless. That is why the server crashed.

The issue is being addressed : [Translation] We have no idea why the server crashed. Bob is doing his best. We will let you know when it is ready. Don't ask for a date.

Compliance was not achieved : [Translation] We broke the rules. Then we covered up. No one noticed. So we broke them again. It blew up. Let's not dwell on who did it. Let's move on.

At times we have to avoid blame. Or diffuse responsibility. Even vaporize legal liability. No one knows this better than politicians, bureaucrats, and those in corporate-communications who deploy passive voice for career success. For us lesser mortals, we must know how read between the passives to know what is getting swept under the carpet. Notice when the focus is being shifted from the actor to the action. Decode the euphemisms and abstractions that hide agency.

In short, be active with the passive. Next time you hear a statement that sounds polished but vague, ask: Who did what? Because sometimes, what’s swept under the carpet is exactly what we need to see.