The Resurgence of the Written Word

Remote work helps the stronger writers look like stars. But how we do develop this super power?

When I opened my communications coaching shop two years ago, I assumed leaders would seek help only with their spoken vs. written word. Not true. More clients request help with their writing today — and more than ever before. The remote work environment’s driving all this (I suspect). Today we must document more, explain more, and gain sign off before we proceed. Also, one message we write may go all over —even to a board or CEO.

But how do we become better writers, especially if we dislike writing or believe we suck at it? We answer this prompt in this week’s Medium post, part of a short series. Next up: Explore the overlooked role that style, grammar, and even punctuation has on beautiful writing.

Debunk Myths. Challenge Fears

When I ask coachees what they dislike about writing, many point to the permanence and visibility. Any mistakes become eternalized — and that’s hard to recover from, one leader once said. To help get out of our own way, perhaps call the bluff on some of the lies around these notions, or at least view them differently. Some ideas can include:

• Know that while poorly written messages become eternal, so do beautifully written ones. Besides, in today’s marketplace, audiences feel more forgiving given the onslaught of messages we must all craft.
• Accept that the bar’s fairly low. (And I mean this idea kindly.) Due to overwhelm and poor or minimal training, many leaders do not write that well, if we’re using brevity, clarity, and uplifting tone as our metric.
• Understand tools and techniques exist to reduce errors, like spellcheck. We can unsend. Also, if we’re speaking of email messages, we can acknowledge and fix those typos with a small follow-up.
• Know that “good or great writing” becomes subjective and dependent on culture. But to write well, often we must defy awful cultural norms obstructing clarity, relatability, and brevity.

Follow a Structure

Effective writing requires well-structured messages, and a framework helps the rest to flow. The core framework I’m about to share comes courtesy of Dr. Heidi Schultz at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, where I taught corporate communications for five years. I’ve modified things slightly with my own research and journalistic tools.

• A specific subject line — consider this a Tweet of your message.
• A warm, personal greeting, avoiding withering ones like, “All.”
• An intro bottom lining what you want your audience to know or do, why, when, and how. An outline sentence telling them what’s next.
• A body with 3–4 core ideas you’ve mentioned within your intro.
• An out-tro reiterating in personal and upbeat terms what you’ve just shared, reminding them of any deadline if one exists. Warm salutation at the end.

Bring Up Main Points. Stay Specific

Within that intro, you’re wanting to keep the bottom line — your core idea — high up so your reader need not dig for the news. Include your bottom line within the email subject line, too. An article on bottom lining lives here with some journalistic tips to take the guess work out of things.

Nor do you want to ramble or stay too vague. Our audience has never felt more distracted and most suffer from overwhelm. Also, my article on brevity lives here, which offers tips on reducing culprits of wordy prose. When it comes to substance, try the paragraph structure format of topic sentence, supporting key ideas, and a so what sentence at the end. Use examples and details for depth.

Block Off Editing Time

Great writing requires great thoughts. To foster ideas, especially something delicate and/or meaty, I find this method works well:

• Block off time for a first draft and avoid distractions. Commit to a first base paint on the canvas, even if it’s a skeleton structure. Then, add things in.
• Break away between your first and final drafts. You’ll better see redundancies, repetition, and error.
• Focus and stay audience centered as you produce a cruel edit on your words. Only leave the parts aligned with your bottom-line idea and intro.
• Employ a trusted “writing buddy” to catch anything wonky and provide feedback on clarity, tone, and flow.

Employ Design Techniques

If you truly want to write well, ensure your readers can skim your message and that it invites you in visually. Some small tips may include:

• Keep your paragraphs short and…
• Employ bulleted lists to break up any density. Keep the grammar consistent as you go and…
• Use subheads — fun ones, and cap things at 2–4 words.
• Bold, italicize, or underline key ideas, but do so consistently.

I’ve chosen the resurgence of the written word and how to write well as my theme this week because I love to write and believe (with a shifted mindset) others may love writing, too. Effective writing uplifts and empowers me and others I coach. And like any other craft, writing well requires adopting some helpful tools, which I hope this post has offered.

Debbi Gardiner McCullough coaches and trains immigrant leaders to become more confident, concise, and mentally fit communicators. From Wisconsin, she owns and runs Hanging Rock Coaching and serves as a communication effectiveness fellow coach to leaders all over the globe with BetterUp.