That Thing Women Do

What do women do? They qualify almost everything they say. Ever notice that men just blurt out opinions as if those opinions were the very latest and greatest pronouncements on just about anything and we should be so grateful to be within earshot?

Yes, you have.

Women? We qualify our statements. Mostly, kind of, I believe, this may be true. We don’t blurt. Now, resisting the urge to blurt out the first thought that comes to mind is often a good idea since that reticence will prevent you from sounding like a complete moron most of the time. But sometimes, when you are writing an academic paper, when you are writing a grant proposal, when you are writing a business plan, you need to be more solid. You need to own your opinion. As a smart writer you want to sound positive and definite.

So stop writing: We are pretty sure, from the projections available but those are not all entirely accurate, you know how that goes, that if all goes well, and the widget market doesn’t crash, we can probably clear $250,000.

And instead write: I will make $250,000 this year selling widgets.

Even if you have command of a great, extensive vocabulary, there are times in your writing that you want to be short, solid and secure. This is one of them. Make the statement, make the assertion, be bold, excise likely, pretty sure and I think, from your writing vocabulary.

Thank you.

From Don’t Write Like You Talk (3L Publishing) by Catharine Bramkamp www.YourBookStartsHere.com