Did I want to please the audience? Of course. But from my earliest days as an editor, I published what spoke to me.

Be mindful of using business jargon, which includes words like these: end user win-win verticals thought leaders scalable synergize disrupt pivot

Reporters at the Journal worked hard, but some of them relied on jargon or presumed too much knowledge on the part of the reader.

Don’t assume that all ideas have been done. You can take something classic and find a new approach, sometimes playing off of the news.

The best advice I can give you with that problem? Write something and go back to it the next day, first thing in the morning, before you have any other words or ideas in your head, and you will see it anew.

Particularly difficult were the pieces from accomplished writers and novelists. There was no question they could write, better than any of us could. But doing a bestselling nonfiction book or an award-winning novel is no guarantee of a successful op-ed. They

But don’t think that because you grew up in a suburb and have led a seemingly uneventful life that you have nothing to say. Oppression and pain and isolation are not necessary components of successful stories. Your real story is what is needed.

In this quest for commonality, whether you are writing or speaking, don’t hesitate to expose details of your life and ask personal questions.

Always concede the good points of the other side. What you want is to be heard, not to win every outing.