Communication, whether written or oral, is a difficult skill to hone. Yet it is a necessary skill for leaders and management. Without it, you can’t initiate action or follow up on progress, much less organize a group or consolidate them under a common vision or goal. While you may never want to author a book or even write copy, you are going to be sending emails, writing reports, and reviewing or creating plans. As such, regardless of if you like writing or not, you will need to become proficient.
One of the most obstinately reoccurring questions I am asked while tutoring student’s with papers is, “Is it good?” The problem with the mindset behind this question is that focusing on making sure writing is “good” does not allow one to grow and it does not help one learn how to make the writing good in the first place. I propose a different solution.
My number one tip for writers who are worried that they aren’t any good at writing is this: Forget about being good, and focus on being efficient. Too often newer writers get caught up in trying to show off or use elements of style which they do not understand enough to use accurately. The results are apparent. And it is not pretty.
By changing focus from trying to be a good writer to focusing on efficient writing, you change your end product to be something simpler but extremely readable, rather than being a jumbled mess of fancy stylistic elements. Cutting back to simpler structures and focusing on the message rather than the delivery is key. The message is always the most important part of the communication process. An understandable message, even if it isn’t well tailored to an audience, is far better than a scrambled message which has a perfect stylistic match with the audience.
In conclusion: forget about making your writing “good” enough. Make it efficient. With enough practice you will get to being “good” with little effort over time.
World-Changers 1.1 