If you want to be a better, faster writer, be clear. Does that sound like unnecessary and obvious advice? It should be, but I see cluttered, clunky writing in professionally written materials on an almost daily basis. That tells me we still need to work on clarity. Why clarity matters When you’re in a hurry and you’re simply trying to get something written and out the door (or out of your inbox or chat window), you might be typing words that make sense in your head but that doesn’t mean you’re being clear in your writing. And when...
Mistakes make us look stupid. Period. Mistakes in our writing also lower our credibility, whether they show up in a document, an email, or a chat message. When readers see errors in your writing, they might assume that: You’re a sloppy writer. Your spelling/punctuation/grammar knowledge is subpar. You’re not detail-oriented. You don’t care enough to check for mistakes. You don’t care enough about them to check for mistakes. Yet we are all moving (and writing) so fast that mistakes are inevitable. What to do? Accept that you’ll make...
Can changing just one word of your message get that message across faster? I think so… I used to drive a stretch of freeway with a most annoying sign off to the west that irked me every time I passed it. The sign was a huge banner for a tree maintenance company and it read, “Are your trees safe?” I suspect the purpose of the sign was to generate business, but I don’t think their word choice was the best for doing so. Here’s a perfect example of the power of changing just one word: Most people driving down the freeway at...
Have you ever hit Send only to find out later you had an egregious error in your message? I’m guessing yes, because it has happened to us all. We’re typing fast and probably thinking about the next task while trying to finish this one and boom, next thing you know, we’ve sent a messy message that implies we’re lazy and too busy to proofread. Dang! Whether you’re writing a quick Snap chat to a colleague, a longer email to a customer, or an even longer paper for a project, this one simple trick will help...
You might have a money pit staring you in the face and you don’t even see it. This money sucker wastes time and dollars. And it’s not unique to your business. Like aliens taking over a city in some blockbuster movie, this money pit shows up all over, draining potential profits and tripping up productivity….all without anyone noticing anything is amiss. No, it’s not an inside embezzler or a Russian hacker that’s quietly sabotaging your efficiency efforts. It’s poor writing skills. A study by the...
The story I am about to tell you is true, although embarrassing. But I share it because there’s an important lesson to be learned here about becoming a better faster writer… Once upon a time, this freelance copywriter fell on some hard times. That’d be post 2008 recession when every single high tech client disappeared. As a single mom who still had to pay the bills, I took on some writing work I can only describe as gross to tide me over until the economy improved. No, not that kind of gross, but for someone who...
