Written communication is the most important skill you can work on if you're early in your career, or transitioning into a new industry like tech. What's the easiest thing you can improve right now?
Nobody wants to read a wall of text. Your emails/messages will be much easier to consume if you space out your paragraphs/sentences, and bold or underscore important information.
Nobody cares that you sound smart because you use fancy words. Direct communication uses simple language that everyone can understand.
Have a long important email or message you need to send someone? Start by saying what's most important upfront, you can always provide more context later.
Your content or message should aim to achieve one main objective. Edit out everything else that creates noise or confusion, and save it for a future message.
If you have too many asks, you run the risk of creating decision paralysis for someone else. Have one clear ask that someone can act on. You're not doing someone a favor by giving them multiple options or ways to follow up.
How would you feel if you got an email/message like what you're about to send? Are you being respectful, clear, accommodating, empathetic? Always put yourself in the shoes of your audience when editing yourself.
There's a lot more to becoming a great written communicator, but if you can improve just a few of these areas you're going to immediately stand out. Learn more about how improving this skill can prime you for a role in tech by applying to the School16 tech accelerator program!
