As a writer, I am commonly asked to share some tips that can help improve written communication.

The following practices have helped me hone my writing skills over the years:

1. Avoid stating the obvious: Let’s say you’re writing on the subject of food. You will want to avoid saying something like, “Good food is the key to good health”. This is a fact universally known, and by stating it, you’re making poor use of your reader’s limited time and scant attention. Instead, focus on things that aren’t quite obvious to everyone, drawing attention to your thoughts and ideas on the subject.

2. Don’t start (all) your sentences with “I”: It’s the easiest thing to do, but it’s a dull and uninspiring way to open a piece of writing. Instead of saying something like, “I have been meaning to write to you for a long time”, try this: “It’s wonderful to finally be writing to you”.

3. Use your experiences to express yourself: When you don’t quite know what to say in your writing, it’s useful to tap into your experiences. This can help you develop your own point of view. Be unafraid to engage with the personal and the experiential, because that’s what adds value, uniqueness and relatability to your writing.

4. Practice precision: An example of that can be seen in a sentence above, where I write, “The following practices have helped me hone my writing skills…”, as opposed to writing, “The following things have helped me hone my writing skills”. Choose words that help you communicate as clearly and concisely as possible.

5. Always read, and then proofread, everything that you write: Whether it’s an email with no more than three sentences, or an essay that adds up to a thousand words, when you read (and proofread) what you have written, you are sure to find a typo or a misspelt word that you’d like to correct. Not only that, you’re also likely to find better and more compelling ways to phrase the things that you have said.

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