Legal Writing

A post on the Stepcase Lifehack blog recommends the book Economical Writing, by economist Deirdre McCloskey, and lists five of McCloskey's points. My favorite:

1. Always ask "so what?"

Don???t assume that your topic is important just because you think it is, and don???t assume everyone automatically recognizes its relevance. Be very clear about establishing why your topic is important and why your reader should care. Your reader???s time is very valuable, and he or she could be doing a lot of different things. They have decided, for whatever reason, to take a look at something you have written. Look to inflict interocular trauma. In other words, hit them between the eyes with why what you have done is important. Convince them immediately that they should keep reading your work instead of picking up something someone else has written or playing with the kids.

This week, as you revise your messages, ask "so what?" Make sure you always give your readers a reason to keep reading.