Dynamic communication skills are one of the keys to personal and professional success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success, 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success and Your Success GPS. If you want to become a dynamic communicator, you need to master three basic, very important communication skills: conversation, writing and presenting.
This is a big month for me. I have three new books coming out – all on the subject of career and life success…
• 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success
• Your Success GPS
• I Want YOU…to Succeed
I’m excited. I feel like I’m James Patterson. If you don’t know James, he’s a fiction author who seems to put out one or two books every month. I’m reading on of his thrillers right now.
People often ask me how I find the time to write books when I’m busy with my coaching, consulting, speaking and blogging. First of all, I must admit that writing comes fairly easy to me. I was the editor of my high school newspaper and yearbook. I was a journalism major in college. Both experiences taught me how to write to a deadline.
However, there is one secret that has helped me with my writing: write quickly. Get your thoughts onto the computer screen or paper. Worry about editing and grammar later.
I find that when I write quickly two things happen. First, I create rough drafts easily. Second, my writing is more conversational. Both are good things. Once you have a first draft, your writing project is nearly done – the editing, rewriting and proofing are just details. And, more important, conversational writing is easier and more enjoyable to read. You communicate better when people enjoy your writing and find it easy to read.
Yes, you have to edit and rewrite – one of my old bosses used to tell me – “rewriting is the key to good writing.” However, if you try to edit and rewrite as you are writing, you are unlikely to get much writing done. Editing and rewriting as you go just slows you down. It breaks your concentration and hampers the flow of your writing.
So take a tip from a guy who writes a lot – 10 books and over 1,000 blog posts. Write fast. Get your thoughts out. Then go back and edit, rewrite and proof.
The common sense point here is simple. Successful people are dynamic communicators. Dynamic communicators have great conversation, writing and presentation skills. If you want to write to communicate, use small words and short sentences. Get your thoughts out quickly. Don’t try to edit and rewrite as you go. In other words, break your writing projects into two parts: 1) writing and 2) rewriting, editing and proofing. The faster you get your thoughts out of your head and onto the computer screen or paper, the more likely your writing will communicate well to your intended audience. Don’t get me wrong here. You have to edit, rewrite and proof your writing. However, it is much easier to do so after you have completed the first draft of your document, not while you’re writing it.
That’s my take on writing for success. What’s yours? Please take a minute to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, I really appreciate you taking the time to read what I write. Make it a great day.
Bud
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