Concise and Compelling

In the Retail Marketing Strategies course I teach, my students are required to complete two written assignments by the end of the term.

Both of those assignments have page maximums.

Not page minimums, like the ones you may have been given in grade school when your teachers needed to ensure you put in a minimum amount of effort to earn a grade.

Page maximums, so my students will learn to write in a concise and compelling fashion.

You don't get more persuasive with every word you write.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Eliminating unnecessary words makes your perspective easier to understand.

Knowing which of your supporting points are strongest and then focusing only on those generally leads to more persuasive arguments.

And concise, persuasive arguments are more likely to be read, especially these days when people are more likely to skim your work than spend any significant amount of time with it.

Granted, it can be shockingly difficult to be concise. I've rewritten the ten previous sentences no fewer than sixteen times, eliminating words and simplifying sentences with each rewrite.

But taking the time to edit this post is time well spent because it increases the odds that you'll read it, understand it, and perhaps even agree with it.

And why bother writing anything that won't be read, understood, or accepted?

P.S. I realize the irony of this maxim coming from someone who writes detailed blog posts three times a week and tests LinkedIn's character limits regularly. But I'm working on it.