Simple Words, Big Impact: Master Your Writing

Jack McAllister

06 Apr 2025 • 5 min read

People send 210 million emails globally every minute.

Today we write more than ever before. It has become the main way we talk to bosses, colleagues, and clients. If you can't write well, you might be losing money from it.

Bad writing costs American businesses close to $400 billion every year.

The question is: is your writing good?

It may not be as good as you think.

The Problem: We Don't See Writing as a Skill

We take our skill at communicating for granted. Many of us don't even think of them as skills. We do it so much that it barely registers as an activity.

We speak and write everyday. It's only natural that it's become embedded in muscle memory.

Muscle memory is good - it lets us automatically do tasks that would otherwise take much of our mental energy. But it also has a hidden danger.

When we stop thinking about a skill we stop improving at it.

Think of walking. You do it every day without a second thought, thanks to muscle memory. But just because you can walk doesn't mean you walk well.

Top actors and runway models could take your walking to another level. They could teach you to walk with confidence and command.

Similarly, writing might feel automatic, but conscious effort can elevate it from functional to exceptional.

Why Writing Matters

In professional spaces, our writing is our currency.

It's how we communicate with bosses, colleagues, and clients. Your knowledge is valuable, but only if you can express it effectively. That's where writing comes in.

Writing is a conduit to express your value.

Writing poorly will reflect poorly on your value.

Writing well will reflect well on your value.

Take Sarah. Sarah, a talented project manager, consistently struggled to get her ideas approved. Her emails ramble, her proposals are vague, and her colleagues often misinterpret her meaning. Because of this, she missed out on a promotion.

Had she conveyed her ideas clearly and concisely, that job might have been hers.

The takeaway: don't let writing be your bottleneck.

How to Write Well

One article won't teach you everything you need, but it can help a lot.

Step 1: Write Every Day

You don't get better at writing without doing it.

Read all the books you want, watch all the videos you can find, listen to all the lectures you can. They won't make you a better writer unless you put it into practice.

Start small. Treat this as a new habit. Take it one step at a time.

You can start by doing these:

Write your shopping list
Keep a journal
Practice writing emails

What you write is not important. It is only important that you write.

Write more and more each week until you are writing as much or little as you like. I recommend more.

Step 2: Know How To Write Well

There are four key pillars of good writing, according to William Zinsser, author of "On Writing Well". These are:

Clarity
Simplicity
Brevity
Humanity

1) Clarity

Clarity is the primary goal of writing. You want your reader to understand what you are saying. You don't want them to be confused or to ask what you mean.

2) Simplicity

Get rid of clutter and complex words. They take up room, break the flow of the reader, and muddy your writing.

Get rid of all pretentiousness, pomposity and fat.

William Zinsser

3) Brevity

Keep what you write short.

Be concise; less is more. Cut unnecessary words ruthlessly. Shorter is better.

Short words are better than long words.
Short sentences are better than long sentences.
Short paragraphs are better than long paragraphs.

I find this incredibly fun!

As I write this, I think about what words I can cut. I get excited about how I can remove words, improve my writing and see the flow of the article.

It's lame but true.

Challenge:

Read the last thing you wrote. It could be an email, a text, a social media post. Try to cut it by 50%. Don't wait, go and do it.

4) Humanity

Write in your own voice, as if you were speaking to someone.

If you wouldn't say it, you shouldn't write it.

Business and professional spaces are the worst offenders. Professionals have fooled themselves to think that they need to use long, pretentious business jargon. It pollutes good writing by making it hard to understand and too long.

But it also removes all humanity.

People want to feel connected to the writer. They don't want to read something that looks like a faulty AI bot spat out.

I am guilty of this! You probably are too.

For example, yesterday I caught myself writing an email to my colleague, where I wrote:

"Hi [Colleague's Name],

Thanks for your time today, the meeting was very productive. Please see below the meeting minutes and associated actions and next steps.

Action 1
Action 2
Action 3

Please note that my capacity for the remainder of this week is limited, so my ability to complete the outlined tasks will be dependent on how quickly I get through some of my other pressing deadlines.

Thanks for your understanding and let me know if you have any questions or comments on the meeting notes or next steps.

Best Regards,

Jack"

Useless.

It hurt to write that again. I am sorry you had to read it, if you could even bring yourself to. I would not blame you if stopped reading altogether.

That is a terrible email.

This is what it should have said:

"Hi [Colleague's Name],

Great meeting!

Here is what we need to do this week:

Action 1
Action 2
Action 3

I am busy but will try to do everything I need to. If I can't I will let you know.

Thanks,

Jack"

Bonus Tips

Verbs

Use active verbs over passive verbs.

Verbs are either active or passive depending on the structure of the sentence.

If the subject (the person, animal, object or thing) of the sentence performs the action, then it is active. If the subject receives the action, then it is passive.

Example:

Active: The cat chased the mouse.

Passive: The mouse was chased by the cat.

Active voice is clearer and more concise. Passive shifts focus from the doer to the receiver, which is less engaging.

Nouns

Use nouns that are short, simple and concrete.

Avoid long, complex, abstract nouns. If you can, stay away from words that end in 'ion' and 'ing'. This will make your writing more short and punchy.

Step 3: Read Good Writing

Expose yourself to good writing. There are many great writers out there. Find them.

Read their stuff, find what you like about it, use it in your own writing.

Ask yourself:

Why does this resonate with me?
What words or structure make this so effective?
Keep a log of phrases or sentences you admire and adapt them to your own style.

If you don't know where to start, start here:

"On Writing Well" by William Zinsser.
"The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker.

Remember This

The next time you sit down to write an email, a report, or a simple message, remember that you have the power to make a lasting impact with your words.