Three simple ways to strengthen your writing muscles

Nothing good comes without hard work. To become a great lawyer, gymnast, or pianist, you need to dedicate a large amount of time to your craft, right? And this is no different when it comes to your written communication. Writing is a discipline like any other. It takes consistent effort, practice, and commitment. Which, most importantly, means there’s no reason you can’t refine your skills over time.

The benefits of strengthening that muscle in yourself or your team are massive. 86% of employees consider a lack of effective collaboration and communication as the main causes for workplace failures. While teams who communicate effectively can increase their productivity by up to 25%.

So whether you’re wanting to elevate your own written communication, or want actionable tips to share with your team, we’ve got you covered.

Write often… even if you’re saying nothing at all

You wouldn’t expect to get stronger by only heading to the gym once a month. So why would someone expect to maintain and evolve their writing abilities without committing to daily practice? We see so many professionals overlook the importance of practice. They expect so much from themselves or their teams, without dedicating any time at all to strengthening their writing.

Which is why we advocate for writing little and often. You don’t have to dedicate two hours a day to practising. Or even write anything of a high quality. Simply make sure you’re writing something each and every day. Make it a habit. Even if it’s just a few short emails, a blog post that never sees the light of day, or a morning journal, set aside time to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. 

Frequent writing helps take off a lot of the pressure. Over time, you’ll naturally settle into your writing style and evolve your approach. And the next time you have to write something, you’re more likely to be primed and ready to go. 

Keep your goal front and centre

One of the biggest problems we see with written communication is people trying to do too much. Rather than sticking to one point, they meander around trying to do everything. And the result is often a confusing, half-baked mix of ideas or messages that struggle to achieve anything at all. 

To combat this, get into the habit of writing your goal at the top of your page. For example:

A 500-word blog to educate readers on the importance of descaling your kettle.

An email to inform Sarah of the next steps of her internship.

A press release focusing on the organisation’s latest partnership with Heinz Ketchup.

It might seem pedantic. And unnecessary. But trust us. Keeping the purpose of your writing front and centre allows you to be ruthlessly honest about what you actually need to be saying. Take the second example. If you start rambling on about a different topic, re-reading your goal will instantly highlight that you’re getting off-track. 

It’s tempting to take a “while I’m here…” approach. But next thing you know, Sarah’s getting an email with tomorrow morning’s meeting agenda, your hot take on last week’s office gossip, and a piece of client feedback she didn’t ask for. Maybe there are some vague explanations of the next steps of her internship littered throughout. 

But communication like this is overwhelming. It’s never going to land in the most effective way. And the same applies whether you’re writing an email, blog, social media post, or anything else. Keep it to the essentials. Leave the rest for next time. In time, you can grow to refine your goal, but let’s start small.

Take the pressure off

Often, we stand in our own way of producing high-quality content. We jump straight to the finished product, expecting a Booker Prize-winning piece to unravel before us. And the pressure of achieving this often leaves us with writer’s block, unable to write anything at all. 

So take the pressure off. Accept that your first draft is probably going to be pretty ugly. In fact, it might not even resemble a first draft at all. It could just be a bullet point list of ideas. But focus on writing first, cleaning up later. 

Editing as you go is an easy way to halt your progress. You’ll overthink every word choice, deleting sentences because they don’t sound right and taking yourself right back to that ominous blank screen. Get all your ideas out in whatever format you need to and don’t look back. Then, once you’ve splattered your thoughts all over the page, you can go back through and bring some method to the madness. 

It’s empowering to realise that writing isn’t a skill you either have or don’t. No matter your current skill set or experience, your writing skills can improve. But only if you commit yourself to doing the work.

This is where The Four Pillars come in. With a mix of 1-2-1 and group coaching, we’ll work with you to refine the writing and communication skills of yourself, your team, or your whole department. We provide the tips and tricks needed to ensure long-term writing success and improvement. To find out more, get in touch on 0161 413 8418.