Being understood...

[Brett Nortje]

For a while now, i have been trying to write so as to be better understood. what is the point of writing if nobody understands what you are saying. this has made me sound quiet simple at times, and it diminishes my reputation among some debaters.

I have made a lot of maths literate people out of illiterate people, taught many many things. this is because they have a limited grasp of enlgish or are young children. with all of them they were excited to learn, and, were taught quickly as it was easy to understand.

Some of you also have a very good 'level of expression.' it is flowing and graceful where it wants to be, from you guys, and i enjoy reading your writings. but, for those that have trouble expressing themselves - those often in arguments - well, those arguments could be made a lot shorter if they could 'lay their $#@! on the block.' this would be where the views are expressed quickly and easily to be understood, of course.

But, lo! some people have said i write hypnotically! this has surfaced before, and, i would like to share some of these secrets with you. you see, the more words you use, 'the longer people breathe out for.' this will be a relaxing feeling, as they vocally say the sentences to themselves, and then they will enjoy reading your writing, yes? conversely, if you use 'big words,' like "reiterate," then they will 'cough' often and interrupt their breathing out with irritation, of course.

[Standing Wolf]

Simple is usually better. I find a lot of very dense and jargon-filled writing to be almost deliberately off-putting - aimed more at making the writer (or speaker) seem erudite and knowledgeable than at making a real point. Sometimes I will write several paragraphs, read it over, realize that I've "overwritten" it, delete it and then write it again from memory in a much briefer (and invariably) better form.

[Brett Nortje]

Simple is usually better. I find a lot of very dense and jargon-filled writing to be almost deliberately off-putting - aimed more at making the writer (or speaker) seem erudite and knowledgeable than at making a real point. Sometimes I will write several paragraphs, read it over, realize that I've "overwritten" it, delete it and then write it again from memory in a much briefer (and invariably) better form.

Most wise.

[texan]

I wish I would have paid better attention at school in English class. I am a self taught writer which is dangerous. I am not a patient proof reader which makes it worse. So I apologize in advance.

[Brett Nortje]

Now, as 'a method of propaganda,' you could use big words to talk about your rivals. this will associate them with these short abrupt breaths where they will be irritated by the thoughts submitted to them by yourself in describing the 'enemy.'

If you were to write about numbers, it is best to write them out in english, to allow for a 'even flow' once more. if you were to switch to numbers, the whole stopping, reading the numbers and then assuming reading again would be an unpleasant experience, and, they would not like it as much as a number expressed in letters.

[Doublejack]

I find long winded talkers/typists to be too melodramatic and seemingly too self absorbed.

One doesn't need to get all Herman Melville to get their point across.


Most readers don't give a $#@! anyways.

[Standing Wolf]

Many folks' writing style is influenced by the sorts of things they routinely read. If they read mostly scholarly works, or Nineteenth Century novels, or hardboiled detection fiction, or case law, or just other people's posts on an Internet forum, they will tend, to some degree and unconsciously, to express themselves in that style and with that vocabulary.

[Brett Nortje]

Many folks' writing style is influenced by the sorts of things they routinely read. If they read mostly scholarly works, or Nineteenth Century novels, or hardboiled detection fiction, or case law, or just other people's posts on an Internet forum, they will tend, to some degree and unconsciously, to express themselves in that style and with that vocabulary.

Very rational.