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Hi everyone, is this working? Thank you for the lovely introduction. I think I breathe too heavily. As you can probably tell from my accent, English is not my native language.
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However, when I was in my last year of high school, I went to study in the United States for a year, and this helped me improve my English to a level I considered advanced. But when you learn a language as an adult, there is a certain point beyond which you can only improve so much. At that point, you start to experience diminishing returns, where you put in a lot of work but gain very little benefit from it.
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Eventually, I stopped actively improving my English because I was satisfied with my speaking skills. However, I found myself frustrated with my writing. When working with native speakers, I would compare my emails to theirs and couldn't pinpoint why theirs were so much crisper, more concise, and more pleasant to read.
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It was only until I accidentally stumbled upon a book called "The Elements of Style," originally published over a hundred years ago but still very relevant today. Most books on writing that I have read often reference this book. It is a collection of rules that, when followed, can enhance your writing almost as if by magic.
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These rules are very simple, such as keeping related words together in a sentence, using positive forms of sentences, and opting for the active voice instead of the passive. This book was an eye-opener for me; prior to that, I couldn't understand how to improve my writing. So, I became a little bit obsessed and bought numerous books on the subject.
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While these books cover a variety of techniques for improving your writing, I only have ten minutes today, so I want to focus on one particular rule— the most important one, especially if you have never considered how to make your writing better. Remember this: use short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs.
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Let’s break that down. What does it mean to use short words? It means that whenever you have two words with the same meaning in a given context, try to use the shorter or simpler one, or one that more people are familiar with. For example, instead of 'utilize,' you might say 'use'; instead of 'currently,' just say 'now'; instead of 'initiate,' you could say 'start'; and instead of 'finalize,' use 'finish.'
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People often resist this rule because they worry that using simple words will make their English seem simplistic. I often feel this way too, especially when I want to impress someone with sophisticated vocabulary. But I remind myself of William Shakespeare, whose famous line 'To be or not to be, that is the question' contains no words longer than three characters. It’s impactful, showing that you can convey powerful messages with simple words.
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Mark Twain once said, 'I didn't have the time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.' This highlights that when you refine your writing, it often becomes shorter and more effective. Whenever I try to impress someone with my vocabulary, I remember that even Shakespeare used simple words. Surprisingly, many classical business English courses complicate communication by presenting lengthy, convoluted phrases meant to sound sophisticated, but instead, they clutter your writing.
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Many common expressions violate this principle. For example, instead of 'there's no doubt that,' simply say 'no doubt.' Instead of 'I was unaware of the fact that,' just say 'I didn’t know.' Instead of 'the question as to whether,' simplify it to 'whether.' And instead of 'owing to the fact that,' use 'because.' These changes make your writing clearer and more direct.
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Next, let's talk about short sentences. William Strunk, who wrote the book I mentioned, argued that 'vigorous writing is concise.' A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, and a paragraph should have no unnecessary sentences. To make your sentences shorter, it helps to consciously remind yourself to do so. When we write down our thoughts without thinking about brevity, we often create longer sentences. But if you encourage yourself to keep it short, you might find you can express ideas more clearly.
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For instance, instead of saying 'John, who is a senior engineer on our team, stated that the reason for the system outage was the fact that the network was overloaded at the time due to a backup procedure,' it can become 'John, our senior engineer, says the system failed because the network was overloaded due to backups.' This makes it much easier to read and conveys the same information.
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Essentially, not every sentence should be short, as that can lead to a choppy writing style. However, including plenty of short sentences allows readers to take a breath and process the information. Writing that features a wall of text can be intimidating, leading people to put it aside. Instead, include space between your paragraphs to make it more approachable.
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Additionally, mastering one-sentence emails is an effective style—sometimes your thoughts can be expressed concisely in a single sentence. These emails are fantastic because upon opening them, the recipient has already read the entire email at a glance. People will appreciate this efficiency, especially for emails that don’t require a response.
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I even sometimes include the entire body of an email in the subject line for quick information pieces. To signal that no response is needed, I’ll close the email with 'YOM,' which stands for 'End of Message.' That way, the recipient knows they can archive or delete it without needing to open it.
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In summary, focusing on short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs can significantly improve your writing. There are many more strategies to enhance your writing, but I’ve only scratched the surface today. I hope I've sparked some curiosity in you all about these techniques.
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Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the conference.