3 Ways To Make Your Writing Clearer

Marketers are increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of their ad campaigns, particularly when metrics like impressions do not translate into actual revenue. This phenomenon, referred to as "bullspend," highlights the disconnect between advertising reach and tangible results. The emphasis is shifting towards platforms that demonstrate a higher return on ad spend, with LinkedIn being noted as a leading option for marketers looking to optimize their investments.

In the realm of writing, effective communication under tight deadlines is crucial. Experts suggest prioritizing clarity and focus in written documents. Key strategies include eliminating unnecessary introductory phrases, crafting claim-based topic sentences to guide readers, and ensuring that sentences clearly indicate who is responsible for actions. By adopting these techniques, writers can enhance their messaging and reduce the need for extensive last-minute edits.

3 Ways To Make Your Writing ClearerUploaded 03-11-213 Nov 2021---If your message isn’t clear, changing a word here or there won’t help. You need these 3 strategies to get to the heart of the problem. 00:00 Writing is hard, especially under deadline00:20 Sentence-level corrections won't save you if your message isn't clear00:31 Cut the "since the dawn of time" opening01:03 Write claim-based topic sentences01:48 Make sure people are doing thing in your sentences ...02:18 ... unless you don't want them to be doing things02:50 SummaryNext time you finish a document with a few minutes to spare, don’t squander your time editing with minor sentence-level revisions — changing a word here, cutting a word there (and then putting it back). You should certainly spell-check and proofread every document before you click submit. But if your message isn’t as clear as it needs to be, changing the word “purchase” to “buy” isn’t going to help. Instead, focus on the big picture with these three strategies: 1) Cut the “since the dawn of time” opening and get right to the point. 2) Turn those descriptive topic sentences into topic sentences that make claims. 3) Make sure people are doing things in your sentences — unless you don’t want them to be doing things. If you get in the habit of using these three strategies, you should find you won’t need to do as much last-minute editing in the future.Based on the HBR article by Jane Rosenzweig: https://hbr.org/2020/04/3-ways-to-make-your-writing-clearerShe has more tips at her "Writing Hacks" newsletter: http://writinghacks.substack.com/This video is co-produced with @Emeritus . You can find more co-productions from HBR and Emeritus on the Emeritus app: https://emrt.us/HarvardBusinessReviewFollow us:https://hbr.org/https://www.linkedin.com/company/harvard-business-review/https://www.facebook.com/HBR/https://twitter.com/HarvardBizhttps://www.instagram.com/harvard_business_reviewSign up for Newsletters: https://hbr.org/email-newsletters#HarvardBusinessReview #Explainer #Writing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices