Writing That Works

If you have distilled your thinking to its essence, you will probably be able to express it in simple words.

One executive suggests a discipline — putting down first what you want the reader to do, next the three most important things the reader needs to understand to take that action, then starting to write. When you’re done, he suggests asking

Take the time to boil down what you want to say, and express it confidently in simple, declarative sentences. Remember the man who apologized for writing such a long letter, explaining that he didn’t have time to write a short one.

When you write anything longer than a few paragraphs, start by telling the reader where you are going.

Short sentences and short paragraphs are easier to read than long ones. And easier to understand.

energies on a major document or project or speech that will make a difference.

putting down first what you want the reader to do, next the three most important things the reader needs to understand to take that action, then starting to write.

Most people “write badly because they cannot think clearly,” observed H. L. Mencken. The reason they cannot think clearly, he went on, is that “they lack the brains.” We dare to assume that you, as a reader of this book, are brainy enough to think clearly. You know how to organize your thoughts into a coherent order. Now you must make that organiza

The only way some people know you is through your writing. It can be your most frequent point of contact, or your only one, with people important to your career — major customers, senior clients, your own top management. To those women and men, your writing is you. It reveals how your mind works. Is it forceful or fatuous, deft or clumsy, crisp or