The power of writing

Effective writing skills are arguably one of the most important skills for achieving success in your professional life, and that is because learning to write well helps you to think well. This is called the “writing-thinking-learning connection” (Petelin, 2016, p.5), as it has been argued that being able to write down your ideas helps you to effectively think, learn, and communicate.

This excerpt from Roslyn Petelin’s book How writing works perfectly sums up the power of writing:

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Writing well involves learning how to structure and order your thoughts, use the right vocabulary and grammar, and master tone. Manipulating these important tools will not only make you a good writer, but a good communicator in general.

Writing well is an essential skill that assists your development and presentation as a professional.

Jordan Peterson (2017) delivered a lecture where he spoke about the power of writing, and he said, “if you can think and speak and write, you are absolutely deadly… If you can formulate your arguments coherently, and make a presentation, if you can speak to people, if you can lay out a proposal, God, people give you money, they give you opportunities. You have influence”.

It is often good communication that sets you apart from other people applying for the same job and will set you apart in the workplace. When you are able to use communication to build rapport, demonstrate your competence, and build credibility, you will open yourself to an abundance of opportunities.

Petelin, Roslyn. (2016). How writing works. Allen & Unwin.