[Music] hmm so i'm standing here and i'm looking out at all of you and you're sitting there you're looking back at me and somehow we've already started to communicate actually i started to communicate with you as i walked onto the stage some of you have formed an opinion of me already based on the way i walk how i look my clothes my hair but what if our first interaction happened via an email i sent you what would you what would impress you then it could only be my choice of words how i arrange them the message itself in other words i would be my writing now you've probably heard the old expression you only get one chance to make a first impression today especially today as we're living and working increasingly online many of our most important first interactions happen via written communication in fact we're writing more than ever which means that you're probably going to be read before you are heard or seen for example you may want to look for a job and submit resumes online or you're looking for a partner on a dating app and filling out your bio maybe you just need to fill out forms to apply to register your child at school or apply for a bank loan your image that is trustworthy professional educated or not is in that text so writing is something that we do all the time and it can dramatically impact our lives and yet for many people this is a chronically underdeveloped skill now we can blame technology like spell checker emojis or other forms of technology we can blame the education system or any number of reasons from my experience as an editor and a teacher i found that most people are simply afraid of this form of communication some people see a blank page or screen and they want to run away streaming other people simply underestimate the importance of writing did you know that that in the u.s alone poor writing costs businesses nearly 400 billion dollars a year sorry that's not supposed to be there nearly 400 billion dollars a year in lost productivity think about it you get an email from a colleague asking you to perform some task but the instructions are not clear what will you do you can guess and do the thing wrong or you can email back get clarification not a big deal right an email takes a minute or two after all but imagine thousands of these emails being sent out daily and on a personal level that resume you submitted for the job hr managers spend an average 10 seconds scanning it and deciding your fate and if you're looking for traffic for your website or blog you have about five seconds to hold and hold and capture your audience's attention and your social life is also affected social media has redefined the way we interact so today when you meet new people they're probably checking out your online presence they're seeing what you wrote last week last month a year ago a decade ago because what's posted online stays online now you might be thinking well you know tweeting isn't really writing think again that one sentence you wrote back in 2015 can still come back to haunt you today can cost you your job for example so just a word of advice before i go on never tweet in a tantrum or drunk unless you're in politics and then anything goes it seems these days so writing is an essential skill why are we so afraid of it why don't we hone this skill i think it starts with perception a lot of people when they think of writing they think of being a writer but you don't have to be a shakespeare or a cervantes to write well you don't have to be a blogger or a journalist when we speak we don't think we don't feel we need to be politicians or actors do we or ted speakers by the way all of us work off of written scripts and full disclosure i did write out this talk to prepare for today no when we speak we simply open our mouths and let the words and ideas flow out and then make adjustments as we go the problem is that we think that because we can speak well and make ourselves understood we can write well but that's not how it works speech comes with helpers tone of voice pace stress all of these add their own meanings if you're speaking someone in person then facial expressions hand gestures obviously body language help listeners understand and listeners can also get involved they can ask questions they can add ideas and so on but writing is an exercise in isolation a writer is alone with to express the ideas and the reader is alone to understand them so while a speaker can circle around to a point a writer has to hit the bullseye every time and if that's not a scary enough thought then there's a grammar and spelling and syntax so many ways to embarrass yourself right see speakers can take shortcuts they can bend the rules even break them and still be understood but in writing it's only the text on the page so if you arrange your words in a way that i can't make sense of then i'm just guessing your message and if i can't even guess your message if i can't guess what you're saying you're not saying anything at all so yes writing is hard it requires concentration consideration and time william zinser who is a famous author who wrote the book on writing well said it best writing is thinking on paper anyone who thinks clearly can write clearly about anything at all and that clarity of thought is both the main ingredient and the main benefit of writing see because there are no helpers a writer is forced to choose his words carefully to arrange them in a particular way to deliver a clear and simple message and he also has to consider his reader's ability to read and understand the text their prior knowledge their competency with the language their interests and so on and time time is your friend no one is standing in front of you waiting for a message so you have time to collect your thoughts organize them edit and re-edit the text basically you have time to relax and these features of writing are why psychologists use writing therapy to help their patients because writing puts things in perspective so now with all of that in mind the big question how can you improve your writing so today i want to offer you three tips that should have an immediate and positive impact on your written communication number one always remember the three c's be clear be concise be correct first of all never assume that your readers can read your thoughts read between the lines deliver your message simply and directly and leave nothing to interpretation also write less especially in business contexts where busy people tend to skim rather than read word for word get to your point quickly and remember simple writing is good writing and lastly brush up on your language skills grammar spelling and so on always check facts and figures now to help you visualize the three c's i'll now show you this excerpt from an email that shows you what not to do this email is too long has too many irrelevant and distracting details and even has a spelling mistake an embarrassing spelling mistake the y o u r should be y or u apostrophe r e now do you want to see the 3c version of this email 11 words that carry the message are likely to be read and acted on correctly and give you less opportunity to make a mistake and they will not annoy your team who would have to read it okay tip two never be satisfied with the first draft always get fresh eyes on your text now you can ask your colleague your teacher your friend to look over it and give you feedback if you don't have anyone put the text away for a day or two even an hour do something else come back to it with a reader's eyes now if it's a significant document like a cover letter for a dream job or a business proposal consider hiring a good editor remember even professional writers use editors and the last tip the most important one write write every day it's a skill and it needs practice just like any other now you're not you don't have to write a novel start with something simple and small write a shopping list before you go to the market studies have shown that doing this not only helps you save time and money it actually improves your health by reducing impulse purchases and it's a great way to get a sense of accomplishment and it's a memory aid i can't tell you how many times i've gone to the store to get one item and have come home with five bags of groceries but not that one item shopping lists not an issue anymore you can also write to-do lists keep a journal write letters write movie or product reviews it doesn't matter what you write as long as you write regularly and read because the more you read the better you'll write so i just want to leave you with one last note like this is an expression that really affected me way back when in my university days vox audited up parrot littera script amanit the spoken word perishes the written word remains so pick up a pen start writing and remember if you are your writing make your words impress thank you [Music]