Write Smart: Say What You Mean

You know the feeling: mere minutes after you emerge from a meeting or event, the perfect reply pops into your head.

If only you could rewind and deliver that stellar bit of insight. If only you’d been able to seize the chance to say what you mean.

Discomfort can trip you up when you’re face to face. It doesn’t matter if it’s a business situation you’re unsure of, or that person you’d really like to connect with. You get jittery and the moment is lost.

When you’re self-conscious, you’re so busy thinking of ways to impress your audience you can forget to say what you mean. 

It’s not due to a lack of character on your part, or a lack of self-awareness. We’re pretty much all in the same boat.

But what happens when you sit down to write? You likely have plenty of time and don’t need to react in the moment. You’re free to experiment with any number of ideas, any combination of words.

Funny thing: you can get more tongue-tied when you have time to think than when you need to respond in real time.

The problem, of course, is you overthink it. How to impress everyone who reads your words? How to strike the right tone so your writing has extra impact? Let’s complicate things even more by sitting you down to write nice things about you and your business. But hey, no pressure.

The answer is simple, if not easy. Write smart. Say what you mean, with sincerity and with passion.

Don’t take refuge in jargon, unless you’re absolutely certain your audience speaks that same language. Say what you mean in your own voice. It might feel like a risk, but the far greater peril is saying nothing at all.