The art of saying what you really mean

As a writer, I edit other people’s writing all the time. And yes, there are times where I edit writing that is truly truly terrible. And the bar is pretty low here. When I say terrible, I mean it’s hard to understand, it’s a slog to read and you come away not really understanding what you just read. But it’s really not as common as you’d think. The thing is you don’t need to be Shakespeare to be effective, you just need to be clear. 

The biggest problem I see? Waffle. Your point is there, you make it, but it’s loaded up like a bowl of nachos with so much guac, grated cheese, sour cream and pico de gallo that it’s lost its crunch. 

So here’s how to cut the crap and get to the very essence of what you really mean. 

Test every sentence

Have you said this elsewhere in the piece, only worded slightly differently? Unless it’s repetition for emphasis (which we love), cut it. It can be fun to remove sentences and see if your writing flows better and still makes sense, especially the first few sentences where we tend to flail about for the topic before hitting our stride. 

Test every word

Every single word in your message should do something. If you don’t know the function of a word (try removing it – does the sentence still make sense?), get rid of it. We’re especially looking at adjectives and adverbs here. Describing words. “The boy ran quickly.” Running is innately quick, so you don’t need the adverb. 

Cut the fluff

We all have these written tics that we fall back on when we’re bashing out our thoughts. They’re wordy and meaningless and add nothing. Compare “This course is designed to teach you how to swim” to “This course will teach you how to swim”. So much clearer, so much more breathing room. A popular one is “in order to”. Never were there three more useless words in the English language. (Okay, maybe “two forks please”. I’m not a dessert sharer.) Say bye.  

Find the best possible word

Now you know that every word is working, check that it’s the right word for the job. Is there a better word that would do more heavy lifting in less time? Is it built to last or is it made to last? Is it bespoke or handmade?  

Check the tone

Part of really meaning what you say is also meaning how you say it. Check the tone of your writing. Are you coming across as harsher than you meant to or too condescending? My favourite example of this is using “just” in emails: “I was just checking in”. It feels too apologetic. Own it. Check in. 

If you’d like to chat more about writing for your business, I’d love to hear from you.