WRITING WELL
“simple is persuasive. first sentence grabs. subject before action.”
The Lesson
Business writing is about clarity and persuasion. Main technique: keep things simple. A good argument in 5 sentences beats a brilliant argument in 100. (1) Remove extra words. Not 'he was very happy,' just 'he was happy.' The word 'very' adds nothing. Prune. (2) First sentence must grab. Rewrite it a dozen times until it makes the reader curious. (3) Write short sentences. One thought per sentence. Readers aren't as smart as you think. (4) Subject before action. 'The boy hit the ball' not 'the ball was hit by the boy.' All brains work this way. (5) For humor, choose funny words. Don't say 'drink' when you can say 'swill.' That's 80% of good writing.
Real-World Example
A founder writing investor updates. Bad: 'We have been experiencing very significant growth in our user acquisition metrics this quarter.' Good: 'Users doubled. Here's why.' First sentence grabs. Short. No extra words. Subject (users) before action (doubled). Investors read hundreds of updates. Simple wins.
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