Take Comfort in Writing...

Do you have something to say? Do you have the opportunity to say it to everyone you need it to be heard by?

If not, like most of us the opportunities aren’t a daily happenstance.  We have to make opportunities to be heard and most of that time is going to be by using our words in a published manor.  If you have been told you speak well, congratulations that’s a valuable portion of the skill set you can take advantage of when writing your thoughts, needs, stories, value down in an article format.

Every day our skills, products and services are seen in the form of reports, posts, proposals, blogs, guidelines, social media updates, texts, memoir notes, thank you notes, emails, ads and more.  We live in an era where the written word is around us 24/7 and it can make or break a business.  Knowing this that on average we will write more than 35,000 words in a year – we all need to brush up on this skill set and learn how to become a better writer, the kind of writer that gets results…

• First before you start writing (anything), ask yourself: Why am I writing? You need to have a purpose so that the outcome becomes the solution to the reason.  If you are writing to thank someone for a meeting you had, to motivate, or even to change a company policy your writing needs to be clear and bring value.
• Next when writing gauge the length need. The acronym K.I.S.S. is a very good rule to live by for majority of our writing needs.  Twitter has schooled a lot of us in the art form of getting a point across in 140 characters or less & even then if you can get it to around 100 you will have a 17% higher engagement rate. Why? Because humans are in a hurry and our attention spans are very short.
• There will be many occasions that we need to write without brevity. In these cases, first write like you talk don’t worry about the punctuation, sentence structure or flow.  You want to get your thoughts out on paper first then restate your purpose before quality checking, shortening, changing your words.  Ask yourself: What is the reason you are writing? What should it accomplish – what is to be taken away by the reader? What is the conclusion – what should happen after it is read?  Tip: if you are selling something there should be a call to action included.
• Where ever you are be there! This goes for writing too – make sure your surroundings will inspire your thought process. If you are stressed or in a location where focus is a struggle the results of your writing will show your frame of mind.
• Plan the time and set limits. Did you know the first four hours of your day are when we are at our most creative?  If you are writing for an important purpose don’t select the time based on leftovers.
• Choose by choose wisely – (great movie) but also words to write by. If you want your articles read, acted on and also shared don’t be repetitive. Use a thesaurus or buy a book of creative ways to use words; (Words that Sell – Richard Bayan, Phrases that Sell – Edward Werz)
• When writing key thing to ask yourself, ‘will this appeal to more than me?’ An accountant likes numbers and thinks differently than a gift retail shop owner. But, both need to communicate with each other because they both use each other’s services.  So when writing you have to channel your audience and what would appeal to them when they read your written verbiage.
• Email can be attributed to the fall of Rome. Not literally but definitely an applicable phrase in the twenty-first century. Clear & decisive with an open ended prompt will get you more effective and successful results. Save the three+ page montage for your book or thesis.
• Prior to publishing or sending out say it out loud. Does it sound bizarre like it was written by a transformer? Do you struggle over excessively long sentences? To catch typos, duplicate words or run on sentences during your final proofing read the last paragraph first and work your way back to the first sentence.  Our brains are skilled to be able to read misprinted sentences as long as the first and last letters are correct, so changing the direction you proof in will help you see the writing before the story.
• End all things with a gift. Inside of every written need, every text, tweet or article you have the ability to make a positive moment in another person’s world. Don’t miss an opportunity to be an affirmative force increasing the beauty in the world.

Keep these tips in mind when writing and whether or not it is perfection, your intent will cut through bringing you remarkable results.