Legal Writing

In his book The Invisible Touch, marketing expert Harry Beckwith writes:

Skip the balderdash, the puffing, the filler. Tell me. Tell me the same way novelist Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty) writes books. Asked to explain why his books were so popular and so easy to read, Leonard answered: "Simple. I just leave out the parts that readers skip."

This week, as you revise your messages, put yourself in your reader's position and ask yourself what, as that reader, you would skip over. Leave that out.