I’ve long been a fan of writing things down to free myself up. A while back, a friend of mine got me in the habit of carrying a little yellow sticky pad everywhere I go. It lets me jot things down, wherever I go, so I never have to keep things buzzing around in my head.

Have you ever had to wait too long for somebody to make a point? Their sentences run on but leave you hanging and you have to keep it all in your head to try and follow along. They make you work too hard to follow the information. Surprisingly, it’s not how long the sentences are that make them complex. It’s how long it takes to complete the phrases. We understand concepts phrase by phrase, not word by word. As an author, when you know this, you can write simpler and more effectively to make your points. As a reader, now you know why some writing is harder to follow than others.

How do you improve your writing?  How do you make your writing more conversational?  How do you cultivate a personal style in your writing and your speeches?  In Perfect Phrases for Executive Presentations: Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases to Use to Communicate Your Strategy and Vision When the Stakes Are High (Perfect Phrases), Alan M. Perlman, Ph.D. writes about five principles you can use to improve your writing and speeches to make them more conversational and personal.
Five Principles for Improving Conversational Communication
Based on results and experience, I agree with Perlman’s principles …