What makes an idea powerful? That’s a question I’ve been pondering for the last five years. Powerful ideas have to be right, new, and big. But they have to be simple, too — or at least simple to express. The realm of pure ideas is Darwinian. Some spread, some die. If you have an idea, you need…
If you want clear and useful thinking, you need a true analyst, not just somebody who calls themselves an analyst. True analysts pursue thinking as a discipline. Let’s look at the qualities and skills that define that discipline. If you watch TV or read the media, it seems like you’re always hearing from analysts —…
I am now a writer and a writing coach. I wanted to reflect on the relationship between those two activities. Is writing unconscious? Does deconstructing it for coaching purposes make you self-conscious? Or does coaching help, not just the person coached, but the person doing the coaching? When people are good at something — standup comedy, tennis,…
The American Dialect Society chose the singular “they” as its Word of the Year. Do you think using “they” to refer to one person is weird, informal, and wrong? Well, I’ve been doing it, so you can judge for yourself. If you want details on the debate on why “they” makes sense, see my post…
I have coauthored three books, so I know: writing together is the intellectual equivalent of marrying someone — it is that intimate, getting it right is just as rewarding, and getting it wrong is just as painful. Here’s how to collaborate on a shared writing project. Decide on your shared objectives It’s hard to share the work if…
I love copyeditors. I just wish they could go further. Over the years, the many copyeditors I’ve worked with have flagged my embarrassing misspellings, taught me obscure grammar rules, and saved me from looking stupid. We bond over our Oxford commas. And I pride myself on creating “clean” prose — drafts that are ready for copyedit…
It’s just no fun if you’re the only one in your organization dedicated to clear, bold communication. Don’t stop there, spread the word. Here’s how to do it effectively. If your company, department, or workgroup doesn’t put a premium on clarity, it’s your job to change it. Remember the Iron Imperative: The Iron Imperative: You…
California middle school teacher Leilen Shelton wants her writing students to eschew simple words like “good,” “said,” and “fun,” according to the Wall Street Journal. To demonstrate the problems with this dumb idea, I rewrote a news article about terrorism, replacing all the mundane words with longer ones. Misguided writing teachers are responsible for much of the bullshit…
Weasel words weaken prose. But how do you fix them? First, what exactly is a weasel word? A weasel word is an adjective, adverb, noun, or verb that indicates quantity or intensity but lacks precision. Think of words like “deeply,” “most,” “backer,” and “tends to.” They express emotion, but mean little. I know why you…