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How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

covingtoninnovations.com

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Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#131

Post by [deleted] »

ciphol wrote: post #125
brian_cunnie wrote: post #122

This is my writing gem: when you send an email, you either want them to know something or do something, so say that in the first sentence: Good: "FYI, our etcd cluster is broken, but we're working to fix it." Bad: "I came in this morning, and while I was going through my emails when I saw a message about one of the nodes in our cluster. So I checked it out, and sure enough it was down, and I went to the console and s…

This is how journalists are taught to write. In a "pyramidal" style where the key facts come first, followed by elaboration, followed by more elaborate elaboration.

[deleted]

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#132

Post by ayewo »

brian_cunnie wrote: post #122

This is my writing gem: when you send an email, you either want them to know something or do something, so say that in the first sentence: Good: "FYI, our etcd cluster is broken, but we're working to fix it." Bad: "I came in this morning, and while I was going through my emails when I saw a message about one of the nodes in our cluster. So I checked it out, and sure enough it was down, and I went to the console and s…

> … but the irony is that usually what's at the end of the story is the thing that should be first ("the cluster is down!").

Also know as BLUF (bottom line up front).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BLUF_(communication)

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#133

Post by kazinator »

enigmatic02 wrote: post #92
_ddzr wrote: post #71

Key takeaways: 1. One of the best ways to improve your writing is to learn how to cut out words that are not necessary 2. Stuffy writing is bad writing! It lowers the power of your brain and mine! 3. What words should you never use in writing? Words whose exact meanings you don’t know! Never use a word unless you know EXACTLY what it means 4. If your writing is nonsense, maybe your thoughts are nonsense too! 5. To ke…

Disagreed with 5, it's too prescriptive. Lots of great writers use progressive disclosure to keep people hooked Being unselfish also helps with building great products. Reminds me of this article, treat your reader like a customer: https://www.productlessons.xyz/article/improve-business-writ...

Progressive disclosure isn't what's keeping me hooked on the meaning of the registers of your chip. People asking about the status of my open bug is doing that. Give me a table.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#134

Post by rayiner »

paufernandez wrote: post #119
bspear wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, I wonder if it's driven by people's need to over-express over the internet since there's no body language

I think some people overexpress in general, regardless of the medium. I think it comes from an excess of "passion", which is like permanent exageration. I am prone to it, that's why I know, and I try to keep it under control.

> I think it comes from an excess of "passion", which is like permanent exageration. I am prone to it, that's why I know, and I try to keep it under control.

We thank you.

I suffer from the opposite problem—extremely deadpan personality. I insert exclamation points randomly in emails to seem human.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#135

Post by synergy20 »

brian_cunnie wrote: post #122

This is my writing gem: when you send an email, you either want them to know something or do something, so say that in the first sentence: Good: "FYI, our etcd cluster is broken, but we're working to fix it." Bad: "I came in this morning, and while I was going through my emails when I saw a message about one of the nodes in our cluster. So I checked it out, and sure enough it was down, and I went to the console and s…

Agree on most of the points here and the PDF.

The only problem with me is that, the PDF itself is unnecessarily lengthy, which kind of weakening the point author is trying to make. Would be nice if it is in one or two pages.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#137

Post by d-us-vb »

iworshipfaangs2 wrote: post #74
Trasmatta wrote: post #9

Something that's coming to mind while reading this is how much company communication these days happens almost exclusively on Slack, and how antithetical that format can be to writing and thinking clearly.

I don’t understand. Slack is written communication. How could that be antithetical to writing? Every time you use it is an opportunity to practice.

Slack (and teams, discord, skype) are all antithetical to the style of written communication outlined in the slide deck. They make difficult writing a long, well-structured document to record and transmit a complex idea. IM team coordination platforms are only good for the first phase of writing, that is, just getting ideas down in written format. The issue is that the tools built into those platforms do not aid in the other phases of the writing process, and in fact, they sort of make it difficult, actually. I speak from experience having to go back through thousands of Discord messages to condense the ideas into a collection of documents on different topics.

Someone should write an extension that makes it easier to convert IM thread to an organized document outline in slack or discord. That would be nice.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#138

Post by dqpb »

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #124
brian_cunnie wrote: post #122

This is my writing gem: when you send an email, you either want them to know something or do something, so say that in the first sentence: Good: "FYI, our etcd cluster is broken, but we're working to fix it." Bad: "I came in this morning, and while I was going through my emails when I saw a message about one of the nodes in our cluster. So I checked it out, and sure enough it was down, and I went to the console and s…

For a masterclass in how not to write, take a look at this BBC article which is narrativised to the point of being downright insulting. [0] It's quite an effort to even figure out what they're talking about. (The article's dishonest clickbait title is just icing.) [0] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-49012771

Or any article from The New Yorker.

Re: How to write more clearly, think more clearly, and learn complex material [pdf]

#140

Post by hammock »

brian_cunnie wrote: post #122

This is my writing gem: when you send an email, you either want them to know something or do something, so say that in the first sentence: Good: "FYI, our etcd cluster is broken, but we're working to fix it." Bad: "I came in this morning, and while I was going through my emails when I saw a message about one of the nodes in our cluster. So I checked it out, and sure enough it was down, and I went to the console and s…

Agree with the general sentiment, and a constructive suggestion:

>Similarly when asking for something. Good: "Could you please get me a new monitor? I'm getting headaches from the current one's constant flickering"

Put the rationale ahead of the request. I.e. "My monitor is giving me headaches. It's affecting my work. Will you get me a new monitor? "

This way you avoid the defensive knee-jerk reaction before you have made your case. Notice I also added a sentence of why your boss should care.

A formula of two declaratives + a question is a good formula for short communications.

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