When you're unsure between 'desu/masu' (polite) and 'da/dearu' (plain) styles

Hello, this is Press Lab.

I am Rie Yamamoto ({@yamamoto_rie}, a member who handles many corporate owned media projects, HR media, and institutional newsletters.

Yamamoto is currently producing content that looks back on the history of a certain company (hereinafter referred to as company history).

During this process, the person in charge asked the following question. Since it is a frequently asked question, I decided to leave Yamamoto's answer on note.

(To be precise, I have added a little extra to the answer to turn it into an article.)

I hope this will be helpful to corporate representatives and others who are struggling with the same issue.

Q. 'Should I use the desu/masu style or the da/dearu style?'

To this, Yamamoto prefaced it by saying 'for this project' and recommended the desu/masu style.

There were three reasons behind this.

The desu/masu style is easy to use

1. High versatility

The company history was intended to be used in both web and print media. Therefore, the target audience includes internal and external stakeholders, as well as students considering joining the company and older generations (such as alumni). Since the writing style is unified with polite language, it is easy to give a friendly and favorable impression to any reader, making it highly versatile.

2. Can soften expressions and impressions

When a long history is developed as a vast piece of reading material, chapters mentioning wartime or restructuring will inevitably appear. You can expect the effect of softening the harsh impressions or painful images that the reader might receive.

3. Easy to harmonize with other content

The company history was part of a certain company's content. We are producing multiple pieces of content related to the company in addition to the company history. If only the company history were summarized in the da/dearu style, it might give the reader a stiff impression only in that section. It would also create a sense of abruptness, as if the tone had suddenly changed. Since the other content is in the desu/masu style, keeping the company history unified will prevent the reader from feeling a sense of discomfort when reading the whole thing.

Situations where the da/dearu style is appropriate

On the other hand, there are situations where using the da/dearu style feels more natural.

Because it uses definitive expressions and assertive phrasing, it is suitable for news, academic papers, and essays. You may also see it in essays and columns.

In the case of content disseminated by a company, it is better to choose the desu/masu style, which is less likely to give an intimidating or cold impression, considering that an unspecified number of people will be viewing it.

Finally

・Who is the intended reader?
・What do you want the reader to take away?
・What kind of communication do you want to establish with the reader?
The way you create content changes depending on who you want to reach and what you aim to achieve through that content.

If you have any concerns, please feel free to consult with Press Lab.