Summary

The author shares five tips from business school that helped improve their writing skills, including getting to the point quickly, keeping sentences concise, understanding the audience, taking a nap, and eliminating unnecessary fluff.

Abstract

The author, who attended business school, learned valuable writing tips that they apply to all their writing. They emphasize the importance of getting straight to the point, using concise sentences, and understanding the audience's preferences. The author also stresses the benefits of taking a nap before writing and removing unnecessary fluff from the content.

Opinions

The author believes that business writing principles can be applied to all forms of writing.
They advocate for getting straight to the point and not wasting the reader's time with unnecessary buildup.
The author recommends keeping sentences short and simple, following the "back-of-a-postcard-with-lipstick test."
They believe that understanding the audience is crucial to effective communication.
The author suggests taking a nap to improve writing clarity and coherence.
They advise against using unnecessary fluff in writing, which can be disingenuous and meaningless.

5 Tips from Business School that Helped Me Become a Better Writer

Featuring lots of erotic metaphors

If there’s one thing I’ve taken away from business school, it’s how to write more effectively. And also the fact that tax accounting is hella boring.

People may think you have to be Siri’s sibling to be able to write appropriately in business.

But just because you’re writing about ‘customer lifetime value’ doesn’t mean you can’t apply certain aspects of a style to all the other things you write.

Here are some tips I’ve learned about business writing to give a little stimulus package to your next draft.

Bottom Line On Top

The most important business writing principle I continue to use is to get straight to the point. Put the Bottom Line On Top (BLOT).

If you’re writing about a solution to a problem, start by presenting the solution before you talk about the problem.

I know, I know; everyone loves a bit of foreplay. But in today’s world of instant gratification, nobody has time for sweet talk and a little fondling. We want the climax, and we want it yesterday.

This is a common trap lots of writers (myself included) fall into when we’re trying to get our point across. We feel like we need to build some sexual tension before we can thrust our ideas into the reader’s mind.

Realistically though, there’s only so many words someone’s willing to read before they move on to the next story. Open with what you want your reader to know first, and then they can decide if they want to keep reading.

Back-of-a-postcard-with-lipstick test

One of my favorite profs liked to say that if you can’t describe an idea by writing it on the back of a postcard with lipstick, then it’s too long.

It’s a nice touch on the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) and one that’s stuck with me because of what it says about forming sentences. If your sentence doesn’t pass the back-of-a-postcard-with-lipstick test, then it’s probably too long.

Try to portion out your ideas so that there’s only one or two points per sentence. This makes it easier for the reader to follow your logic. More importantly, it forces you to get into the habit of expressing yourself more concisely.

Know your audience

Unless you’re publishing your diary, you want to make sure your writing caters to what your audience likes to read.

I once had to rewrite an entire section of a group report because someone thought the professor would enjoy grading a doctoral thesis.

The thing about writing is that it’s partially an art, and like any art form, it’s all too easy to get lost in artistic masturbation.

But this isn’t OnlyFans. My readers don’t show up hoping to watch me ‘stroke the salami’ in a closet (at least I don’t think they do). They come for me to give them a reach-around. And maybe something good to read while I’m at it.

Have a nap

I cannot emphasize enough the positive impact a well-rested mind has on your ability to think and write coherently.

There’s only so much midnight oil you can burn before your work starts to sound like crowd suggestions for an improv performance.

I know from my tendency to put off assignments to the last second that I’m much better off sleeping for a couple hours instead of killing myself the whole night just to put out dogshit.

Take a bit of a nap before you continue whatever you’re struggling to finish. When you wake up, the words will flow more smoothly and you’ll be able to edit out all the gibberish you wrote.

Trim the fluff

There’s nothing worse than the kind of writing that induces hypnosis.

If I were a betting man (which, despite my Chinese heritage, I am not), I would guess that 80% of what I wrote in my undergrad business studies was made up of meaningless facts and statistics. Another 10% were fancy synonyms for ‘also.’

It’s not just that fluff is meaningless. It’s disingenuous. It’s like taking Viagra before hitting up a gay bar even though you’re straighter than your hard-on.

Readers aren’t holding you to minimum page counts. Say what you mean, and say it as directly as possible.

Writing a shit tonne of business assignments has taught me to be more concise and intentional with the way I communicate ideas.

It’s also taught me that writing tips can come from any facet of life. You might spot a word that’s used in an interesting way or a style of formatting that’s easy on the eyes.

Open your mind to all the wonderful things life can teach you, and you’ll be amazed at all the things you never knew were right in front of you.

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