Rules

November 14, 2021

Today’s a travel day, so please enjoy this list-y entry.

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WRITING: THE RULES

After three decades in writing for business, I still believe in one maxim:  

Write like a person.

Don’t write like a company or a brand. Let the rhythm and flow of conversational communication find its way in.

Try hard not to sound like everybody else.

Make your material relatable, authentic. At all costs, avoid trying to sound like you just presented a Ted Talk on scalable ecosystem solutions.

Compelling narratives — Tom Peters: “Stop ‘giving presentations’ and start telling stories.”

Less is more — Assume the power to be concise.

Get to the point — Nobody has time to go deep into your high-concept thing. Say it up front, and make it interesting.

Simplicity —The people who can maintain simplicity in the midst of complexity? They win.

Every word counts — Readers lack the luxury of time. Go see how many words you could remove while retaining meaning. 

Give your audience — action, direction, insight, motivation.

Communication sent does not equal communication received. To change this equation, speak in the language of your audience:

 • Shorter words are better; active voice is better

 • Punctuation should be perfect

• Plain talk, not corporatese

• Stories and relationships first: then, data

• People do not relate to metrics, instead they relate to circumstance, transformation and growth.