Have you ever experienced this scenario? You are done with a writing assignment, but only to find out that you are shy a few pages of the minimum page limit set. You spend time adjusting the margins inwards or testing out new fonts to extend the length of what you have written, yet still find yourself needing more words. So, you start to add filler words and flowery phrases.

“The allies won the war because of A and B” becomes something like “the main reasons why the allies were successful in the armed conflict against their enemies can be explained by the following. First and foremost, …”

I used to feel so smart in my ability to add useless words and phrases to hit minimum word and page limits. Yet, I picked up a bad habit that I have spent years trying to reverse. Instead of saying “yes” or “no”, I can go on for paragraphs and not answer the question. From my experience, professional environments celebrate being concise over lengthy explanations that add no additional value. Learning to say more with less is an art and skill that is useful at any point in one’s career.

#DeliverbyWenSzuLin #TheUntaughtLessons