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I went from being a bad writer to a good writer after taking a one-day course in “business writing.” I couldn’t believe how simple it was. I’ll tell you the main tricks here so you don’t have to waste a day in class.

Business writing is about clarity and persuasion. The main technique is keeping things simple. Simple writing is persuasive. A good argument in five sentences will sway more people than a brilliant argument in a hundred sentences. Don’t fight it.

Simple means getting rid of extra words. Don’t write, “He was very happy” when you can write “He was happy.” You think the word “very” adds something. It doesn’t. Prune your sentences.

Humor writing is a lot like business writing. It needs to be simple. The main difference is in the choice of words. For humor, don’t say “drink” when you can say “swill.”

Your first sentence needs to grab the reader. Go back and read my first sentence to this post. I rewrote it a dozen times. It makes you curious. That’s the key.

Write short sentences. Avoid putting multiple thoughts in one sentence. Readers aren’t as smart as you’d think.
Learn how brains organize ideas. Readers comprehend “the boy hit the ball” quicker than “the ball was hit by the boy.” Both sentences mean the same, but it’s easier to imagine the object (the boy) before the action (the hitting). All brains work that way. (Notice I didn’t say, “That is the way all brains work”?)

That’s it. You just learned 80% of the rules of good writing. You’re welcome.

你成为优秀写作者的那一天

我从一个糟糕的写作者变成了一个优秀的写作者，只花了一天时间参加“商务写作”课程。我简直不敢相信这竟然如此简单。这里我会告诉你主要的技巧，这样你就不用浪费一天的时间上课了。

商务写作的核心是清晰和说服力。主要的技巧是保持简单。简单的写作更具说服力。一个五句话的好论点比一个一百句话的精彩论点更能打动人。不要抗拒这个事实。

简单意味着去掉多余的词语。不要写“他非常高兴”，而是写“他高兴”。你可能认为“非常”这个词增加了什么，但实际上并没有。修剪你的句子。

幽默写作和商务写作很相似。它也需要简单。主要的区别在于用词选择。对于幽默，不要说“喝”，而要说“痛饮”。

你的第一句话需要吸引读者。回去看看我这篇文章的第一句话。我重写了十几次。它让你产生好奇心。这就是关键。

写短句子。避免在一个句子中包含多个想法。读者的理解能力并不像你想的那么强。学习大脑如何组织想法。读者更容易理解“男孩击球”而不是“球被男孩击中”。这两个句子的意思是一样的，但想象动作（击打）之前的对象（男孩）更容易。所有的大脑都是这样工作的。（注意我没有说“所有的大脑都是这样工作的”？）

就是这样。你刚刚学到了优秀写作规则的 80%。不客气。