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14 Feb 12
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Have you ever read an email from someone that was too wordy, lacked focus, and left you confused? How can we learn from reading such emails to improve our own communication? How do we compose emails and writings that others will actually want to read?
The ability to write clearly is crucial to getting your message across no matter what you’re writing, whether it’s an email, a blog post, a magazine article, or a letter to a friend. Clear and concise writing is vital to having your words read and understood.
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The whole purpose of most writing is to inform readers of something or to persuade people to do something. The more clear and concise your language, the easier your message will be understood, and the more likely your readers will respond to that message.
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Before you can write clearly, you have to be able to think clearly. A big reason many writers don’t see desired success in conveying their message is that they were not focused on a clear message. Good writing usually stems directly from clear thinking.
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Obstacle 1: False ideas about what good writing is.
Many writers try to write more intelligently and attractively than they need to. Their writing can come across as trying too hard and that isn’t intelligent or attractive. There’s no cosmic law dictating that as soon as you start putting words on paper, you have to jazz it up and make it sound more intelligent than it really is.
Even writers with more knowledge and experience make this mistake. They want to impress readers with their grandiose grasp of the language, tossing about little-known, large words and trying to write in a clever way that ends up diminishing the clarity of their message. They’ve forgotten the most important piece of good writing: your first priority is to inform your readers, not to impress them.
If you seek first to impress, you probably won’t; nor will you often truly inform, as your message gets lost in the jungle of your arcane vocabulary. Seek first to inform, as clearly as you can. If you do that, you stand a better chance of also impressing your readers because you expressed your points clearly.
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Obstacle 2: Not being clear about one’s message.
Many writers have a general idea of what they want to say, but they don’t crystallize it in one short, snappy sentence. Thus, they start out writing, touching on their topic from different angles, and including every bit of information they think is relevant.
The writing may end up readable and professional sounding, but the readers will come away thinking that, while they understood the gist of the author’s intent, they can’t precisely say what the take-home point was. This is usually because the writer never really knew what it was either.
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- Do Not Enter
- Speed Limit 50: Next 400 Miles.
- Stop
1. Visualize Road Signs
Think about the street and highway signs you see around your city. People who write road signs have very little space within which to get their message across. In that very limited space, the fewer and larger the words, the more likely drivers are to see the words and process the conveyed message.
Examples:
Notice the concise prose. The message is very clear. Do the same in your own writing. Choose the right words, the most descriptive words, and keep your words to a minimum. Say exactly what you have to say and be done with it. Don’t muddy up your meaning by writing more than is necessary to make your point.
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2. Write a One-Liner Summary
You may remember writing a thesis statement in high school or college. Similar to a thesis statement, consider putting together a one sentence summary text describing the main purpose prior to writing.
Whenever you have something to write, take a few minutes to think your subject through, and then write out, in one or two short sentences, the main idea you’re trying to get across. Think about your purpose with this piece of writing and your expected outcome.
Do this for yourself, as a guiding structure for your writing, and refer back to it regularly to stay on track toward your primary argument.
A purposeful summary or thesis statement is like a company’s mission statement; it sets out our clear mission in whatever we’re writing.
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4. Write Like You Talk
Instead of reaching about for soaring words and phrases, simply write like normal people speak. Of course, you’ll have to adjust for legitimate differences between spoken and written words, but you should use the language your readers will clearly understand and relate to. Don’t confuse your prose’s clarity by using jargon or stilted, “intelligent” words.
An example of what you shouldn’t writ
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“I do believe that the most important action that could be taken to improve customer satisfaction is to truly engage customers by establishing a significant relationship with them through extended attention to what motivates them to take a particular stance in correlation to the company.“
Most normal people don’t speak like that. Change it to:
“Let’s really pay attention to what our customers say they want from us.“
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Another benefit to writing like you speak is that you retain your own voice and can express yourself authentically. You don’t need to search for unfamiliar language to sound more professional. Simply be yourself and write the way you speak. Your prose will become clearer and your own voice will shine through.
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Use Simple Words to Evoke Vivid Images
Often the simple short word will do much better than any large word, to convey your idea, and be more clearly understood. Try to create concrete images in your writing by using real, earthy words; words that describe actual things. Here are some related quotes from respected authors:
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Only use the words you need to use and eliminate excess. After writing, go back to each paragraph and sentence with a fine toothed comb and see how you can rephrase the same meaning using fewer words. Do this several times. Don’t be afraid to cut text out, if it means a more effective piece of writing.
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Wow! Great Information! You could make this into an ebook with the amount of info you packed into this post. I will continue to return to this while writing my blog posts.
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In order to gain clarity, speak out what exactly you want readers to get. This one has worked very effectively for me. I bounce ideas and thoughts with my family/friends.
Clarity in writing comes from simplicity in thinking. Think of how would you explain your concept to a kid. Everything superficial and hyped goes out of the window then and you are left with the core of the article.
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I especially liked the 8 Keys. I have always had the one line summary running in my head, but never written it on paper. I’m going to start putting it at the top of my page and going from there. I like the idea of a touchstone for maintaining focus. Thanks, great post.
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Get to the core. Omit needless words. Bring freshness and creativity (say tired things in new, unexpected ways). Omit needless words. Omit needless words.
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I’m a big believer that regardless of how complex a subject is, it can always be broken down into its simplest forms and explained to anyone.
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
– Albert Einstein -
Instead of instantly dive into typing, I sit for about 10 seconds and ask myself “What is the point? What outcome would I like?” And type a concise version of my intentions. Short, to the point, easy to read, quick.
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think one of the gems is this: write like you talk. It helps to just get ideas out on the page first. Then go back through your writing and remove needless words. ;)
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Great writing tips!! I pretty much agree with most of them. I find it hard to write when I am all cluttered up in thoughts. So the one line summary is a useful thing that I’ve also been doing. Coming up with an outline thereafter also helps develop the “plot” to the article.
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Don’t just think about what you want to say. Think about how you can say it creatively! There’s nothing wrong with reaching a little higher, or trying to take the reader a little higher, too. Maybe, just maybe, the word you don’t understand has precisely the correct meaning and not ‘arcane’ at all. Let’s not forget to use the dictionary here. It’s one of the most powerful language tools we have.
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Clarity in writing is incredibly important, but the creativity that’s been the bedrock of English writing should be embraced and used. Great prose is not just for musty old books, it’s there to help you express your personality, your emotions and your message.
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09 Jul 09
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04 Nov 08
Johan LarssonThe ability to write clearly is crucial to getting your message across no matter what you’re writing, whether it’s an email, a blog post, a magazine article, or a letter to a friend. Clear and concise writing is vital to having your words read and underst
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21 Aug 08
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18 Aug 08
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13 Aug 08
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12 Aug 08
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Andreas KrohnThe whole purpose of most writing is to inform readers of something or to persuade people to do something. The more clear and concise your language, the easier your message will be understood, and the more likely your readers will respond to that message
tips thinksimplenow productivity marketing writing delicious
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10 Aug 08
Alberto FernandezHave you ever read an email from someone that was too wordy, lacked focus, and left you confused? How can we learn from reading such emails to improve our own communication? How do we compose emails and writings that others will actually want to read?
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08 Aug 08
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07 Aug 08
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- Book: The Elements of Style
by William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White. - Essay: Politics And The English Language by George Orwell.
- Book: Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams.
- Blog: Copyblogger by Brian Clark.
2. Read Books and Blogs on Writing
The following are resources that have most directly and immediately benefited my writing mechanics.
- Book: The Elements of Style
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Paul HackettI really think this is an area I need to improve on -- I'm way too wordy and possibly boring
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06 Aug 08
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Michael Ortegaever read an email from someone that was too wordy, lacked
focus, and left you confused? How can we learn from reading such emails
to improve our
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