A System for Writing Clearly [4 Tactics]
Principle-First
All strong communication starts with writing.
Think about it: Even the best spoken communication—wedding speeches, YouTube videos, business pitches—likely started as a written draft.
Today, I’ll show you some tips that’ll help you communicate with confidence.
SUPERHUMAN SCORING
In every edition of System Sunday, I assess the featured system across three superhuman dimensions: impact, setup, and maintenance.
Unlike your typical review, I focus on factors that influence personal growth. Get to know the evaluation system.
Impact (9.0/10)
First, why improve your writing?
It’s one of the highest ROI skills. You will:
- Think more clearly (incredible for personal growth)
- Amplify your ideas (influence others and accelerate your career)
Writing is a craft I work on daily, and I still have much to learn.
That said, I’m encouraged by my progress. Since I started consistently in 2022, my writing has generated more than 1 billion impressions online, and my social media audience has grown to over 2 million followers (including all of you lovely readers 🙌).
Here are 4 of my best writing tips:
Setup (7.5/10)
Tip #1: Write at a 5th-grade reading level. (Seriously.)
Ernest Hemingway wrote at a 5th-grade level despite having an adult audience.
Hemingway believed writing should be direct and personal—like how you talk.
Here’s an example of a LinkedIn post of mine that performed unusually well. It received 21,600 likes and 1.35 million impressions. One reason folks read, liked, and shared that post?
I wrote it at a 3rd-grade reading level (see image below):
Use a tool like Hemingway Editor to score the grade level of your writing (it’s free).
Why does this work? We live in a distracted world where most people read content on small mobile devices.
Writing at a lower grade level is empathetic to your readers and gives your message the best chance to connect.
If you’re curious, today’s newsletter clocks in at a 5th-grade reading level.
Tip #2: Apply an AI tool like Grammarly to proofread.
Grammarly is an online editor that helps you write concisely and mistake-free.
(I’m not affiliated; it’s just a product I use daily.)
Benefits:
- Integrates with your favorite apps (Google Docs, Gmail, etc.)
- Fix ‘their/there’ and other common errors missed by autocorrect
- Write in the active voice (Ex: The cake was baked by me -> I baked the cake)
I have a premium subscription (with enhanced suggestions), but the free version is powerful too.
Tip #3: Read your writing out loud.
Your ears can pick up on issues your eyes might have missed on the page.
So, read your writing out loud. Then, polish the areas where you stumble.
Your writing will become less stilted and more conversational.
Tip #4: Publish your writing online
The fastest way to improve your writing is to build accountability.
Publishing on social or a newsletter creates that instantly:
- You keep writing because readers expect to hear from you
- Readers reply with ideas, encouragement, and feedback
That loop—write → publish → learn → repeat—is how improvement compounds.
I recommend starting your newsletter on a platform like beehiiv (you can use MEER30 to get 30% off your first three months).
They make publishing simple, so all you have to do is focus on the craft of writing.
Maintenance (7.5/10)
Do you have frequent writing tasks, e.g., weekly email updates, performance reviews, and client follow-ups?