Your Reader Doesn’t Care One Iota About What You Believe

Cut these terms from your writing right now and for evermore

Photo by Krys Amon on Unsplash

The problem with so many experts, pundits, gurus and business writers is they’re believers. They pepper their prose with “I believes”, “In my views”, and “I think thats”. I see it all the time and, as an editor, have to take my sword to them like a busy samurai at the battle of Ichi-no-Tani.

I recall once when I was given a 160-word quote to deliver to a journalist at a national newspaper. After cutting the “I believes”, “In my views” and “I think thats”, the quote was 31% shorter.

When you provide your views, be it in an opinion piece or a quote for an article, it is, by definition, well, your opinion. There’s no point in repeating it, is there? It just lengthens your copy and makes you look unsure, negating all your great insights.

Do this

Let’s look at an example:

“In my view, I think house prices will drop slightly as I am hearing of some investors looking to sell because they are struggling with the rise in interest rates.”

Let’s take out our editing sword and go to work. Let’s be brutal, no mercy. Swish, swash, swoosh and we get this:

“House prices will drop…