7 Questions to Help You Write Anything Better

Even when writing is not in your main wheelhouse

In my 14-year career in engineering, there is no other skill I used more than writing. And no, I don’t mean writing code. I mean English writing: Emails, Design Docs, Presentations, Proposals, Feedback, Code Reviews, you name it.

Written communication can sometimes be daunting, especially for non-native speakers—like me. I’m also not a professional writer — like many of you, I assume. I had to wrestle with my insecurities related to writing, but this year I doubled down on writing and it’s been so worth it!

In today’s article, I want to share the 7 key questions that have helped me be a better writer. I use them anytime I need to write anything, including this newsletter.

If you want to learn how I use these questions to make my writing clear, effective, and punchy, keep reading!

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Now back to the article.

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Why getting better at writing matters

In the increasingly remote asynchronous world we live in, writing has become one of the most critical skills anyone needs. We rely so much on writing to get our ideas through, and without proper communication, important ideas and messages can fall through the cracks. That’s why sharpening our writing toolkit is an effort worthwhile.

The questions I’m about to share are going to take your writing to another level. As a bonus, they work great for presentations too! Without further ado:

Q1. What am I trying to achieve?

Before I start writing anything, the first thing I need to get very clear on is my motivation. If we’re not clear on what our goal is, neither is the reader. It’s like building a house on an unstable foundation.

After I clarify the main goal of my writing, whether it's to inform, persuade, entertain, or educate, everything else flows much smoother.

One thing I try to keep in mind — although I often struggle — is to think small. If I’m trying to achieve too many goals at the same time, I’m not achieving any. I find sticking to one, at most two goals, to be the best.

Q2. Who am I talking to?

Before I start writing anything, I want to identify the specific individual or group I am speaking to — my target audience. Knowing my audience helps me figure out how to tailor my content to speak their language.

For example:

• if I’m talking to you via this newsletter, I’ll use a direct first-person relatable tone

• if I’m speaking to engineers I can get more technical or use domain-specific jargon

• if I’m speaking to a leadership team, I will keep it more concise and high-level

Q3: What am I trying to say?

Once I know why I’m writing that text, the next step is to identify what is the main idea or key points I want to communicate. I like to use bullet points.

For each bullet point I ask myself: How does this relate to my objective? If it doesn’t, then it’s out.

Articulating the key points is an exercise in clarity. If my key points are not clear, then my paragraphs won’t be either. Having my bullet points written helps me stay focused and make sure my message is logical and serves the goal.

Q4: What value am I bringing to the reader?

If I invest time into reading something, I want to feel it was worth it. When I read something poorly written, I either give up or I’m left wondering “OK, so?”. The latter wastes the most time.

For a piece of text to be well written, it needs to show respect to the reader.

The sooner I make it clear to the reader what problem I’m trying to solve for them, the more respect I show because I give them the chance to decide for themselves whether the text is worth reading or not.

Hence, I try to highlight as soon as I can what makes my text relevant.

Q5: How do I want the reader to feel?

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou

Do you want people to be curious or intrigued? Or maybe confident and reassured? Or maybe you want to evoke a sense of urgency or concern to prompt action.

Figuring out the answers will help you tailor the language, tone, and narrative to create a more compelling and resonant message.

Q6: Is my writing clear, concise, and organized?

Once we have the foundation figured out — target audience, main objective and points, the reader’s ROI, and the desired feeling — we can start building our sentences and paragraphs. A good foundation doesn’t mean the text is ready to be sent out, but it’s a solid start.

“A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.” — William Zinsser, “On Writing Well”

I also want to make sure the content flows well and that it’s not confusing to the reader. I might move things around multiple times until I achieve the best flow.

The next thing I want is to verify if the text is clear and easy to understand. Sometimes I can’t spot issues just by re-reading, so I read it out loud. If the sentences sound clunky, I — you guessed it — re-write and edit.

Q7: Can I make my writing shorter?

The answer is always yes. Brevity saves time for both the writer and the reader.

So I make sure to edit edit edit. How? By removing clutter and simplifying.

“The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components”. — William Zinsser, “On Writing Well”

As I’m going over the text again, some additional questions I ask myself: Is this word needed? What about this section? Would the message become weaker if I removed it? If the answer is no, then adios!

Conclusion

To recap, here are the 7 questions to use to make your written communication clear, effective, and punchy:

1. What am I trying to achieve?

2. Who am I talking to?

3. What am I trying to say?

4. What value am I bringing to the reader?

5. How do I want the reader to feel?

6. Is my writing clear, concise, and organized?

7. Can I make my writing shorter?

And remember: the best way to learn writing is to write.

Until next time,
Your Caring Techie

P.S.: If you found this useful, share it with a friend who might need it! 🙏🏻