What is bulletproof writing and why does no one do it? | Eleanor Warnock posted on the topic | LinkedIn
1y
What is bulletproof writing and why does no one practice it? ⚡ A lot of writing I come across that has been produced by VCs or startups is full of holes. The second you drill deeper into a phrase or concept, the entire piece crumbles. The profligate use of corporate jargon like "value" and "conviction" doesn't help either. In the case of truly great writing, each word, each phrase, and all the context provided is underpinned by robust logic. You can pick it all apart, and it still stands up. In other words, it's bulletproof. This is not a skill that most people have, and it's not a skill that AI has been able to replicate well. GenAI-generated writing is full of logical and contextual holes that are easy to pick apart. Being a journalist has made me great at both creating and identifying bulletproof writing. Because anything journalists put out has to be accurate and logical. But it makes me so frustrated when I see writing that's full of holes! We should be able to do better. Rant over for today 😉
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I'm right there in the frustration club with you, Eleanor. 😐 You can only write as well as you think, and most people don't know how — or take the time — to think about what they think.
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Oleg Volkov 1y
Having worked with a lot of founders and entrepreneurs, who speak English as a second or third language, I think that people lose some of their bs-meter mojo when it comes to crafting messages for an international audience. They will interrogate every single statement written in their own language (and presumably addressed at a more critical and sceptical local audience), but will lose the ball when it comes to English writing. And then they either go super bland or super brazen, with no middle ground.
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The French have a very nice expression: “On ne peut pas être à la fois au four et au moulin.” This saying means that one cannot, in our context, do two things at the same time. Well, many of us are technologists, and others are “poets” (journalists, writers...). Our minds tend to work differently from those of the poets, and vice versa. That's why those who can afford an executive assistant use them to “beautify” their reports or letters. The rest tend to use AI as an assistant - it's cheaper.
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Tom Lawrence 1y
Reading this I couldn't help but think of Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle and some of the guidance in there for how to structure business communications. You did have me initially searching for an "approach to writing called 'Bulletproof Writing'" - I'd love to see a guide to writing compelling content that mirrors the detail of theory & concepts in the Pyramid Principle. I recall a fantastic lecture on youtube by Lawrence McEnerney from UChicago's writing program called The Craft of Writing Effectively.
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How would your suggestion practicing this method ? Or generally getting better at writing if you are not a journalist?
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AI generated writing is getting there,by and by, when it comes to business writing.
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Gus Narea 2mo
Is there any resource that you'd recommend to go from zero to hero? Thanks.
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Amen.
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