This one tip will make you a better writer. Instantly.
Write every sentence as though its primary purpose is to get the audience to read the next sentence.
In formal education, you likely learned to write redundant, lengthy papers that were very clear, but weren’t very interesting. (Congrats on that A in freshman composition, by the way).
Academic writing also produces skimmable (or skippable) content. Whomp whomp.
But now as a professional, people aren’t being paid to read and grade your writing. In fact, it’s just the opposite — your career success is likely dependent on keeping your audience’s attention. This is true even for “non-writers.”
By considering each sentence as a mini-advertisement for the next one, you’ll naturally learn to write emails, blogs, documents, and white papers that are an appropriate length for the topic. Short isn’t the goal. Interesting is. Compelling is. Engaging is.
So the next time you’re sending out a memo to the team or a proposal to a prospect, try considering each sentence as a gateway for the next. How did it go? Let me know at Elyse@BrightOathMarketing.com.