Fat is disgusting — especially in your memos, sales letters, or any other kind of business writing.
Here’s how you can tone up your business writing instantly: Just trim the fat. Prune any words that are unnecessary. They weaken your writing and dilute your message.
Good writing is lean and strong. It gets right to the point. Flabby writing is loose and sloppy. Unnecessary qualifiers slip in, so your message is weak and wishy-washy. Qualifiers like:
- I guess
- I suppose
- It seems like
- Now and then
- Occasionally
- You know
Imagine reading this sentence in a memo from someone in authority:
“It seems to me, I guess, that once in a while, the staff should gather together and, you know…”
Does that sound like someone in authority?
When in doubt, take it out. “Omit needless words,” in the immortal words of Strunk and White. Their creation, The Elements of Style, is a lean 100 pages that will teach you more about solid, concise writing that 100 years of reading this (or any) blog. Highly recommended.
Read it, apply it and see for yourself how quickly your writing (and speaking) improve.