Seven Ways to Improve Your Business or Technical Writing

According to an anecdote published in 1918, Woodrow Wilson was asked about the amount of time he spent preparing speeches, and his response was illuminating:

“That depends on the length of the speech,” answered the President. “If it is a ten-minute speech it takes me all of two weeks to prepare it; if it is a half-hour speech it takes me a week; if I can talk as long as I want to it requires no preparation at all. I am ready now.”

There are plenty of other famous quotations (attributed to Pascal and Blake, to name a few) that say something similar, dating all the way back to the 1600s. They all say something similar: it takes longer to write something that is shorter. Why? Because if you think about what you really want to say and endeavor to make it more clear for the reader, you will spend time editing what you have written and it will take a bit more time.

Babbling is Not Writing

Anyone can babble, either on the phone or in person, or for that matter, on paper or a screen. Babbling is not clear thinking. If you are new to writing, or maybe rusty, and find yourself trying to cram in all the details about something all at once, you may need to step back and take a look at the organization of your thoughts.