Tanya Cushman Reviewer:"Peter van de Ven 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 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 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 screaming. Other people simply underestimate the importance of writing. Did you know that in the US alone, poor writing costs businesses nearly $400 billion 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 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 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 to 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 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 bull's-eye every time. And if that's not a scary enough thought, then there's 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 Zinsser, 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 Cs. 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-O-U apostrophe R-E. Now, do you want to see the three C 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. Tip 2. 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 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 I've 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 audita perit, le terra scripta manit. 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.