This was shared by a colleague today and it resonates with me. It’s all over the internet on many other blogs but putting it here so that I remember it in my own writing.
Also, a compendium of Bezos’ investor letters 1998-2017 where you can see this in action.
Use less than 30 words per sentence
- “Due to the fact that” → “because”
- “Totally lacked the ability to” → “could not”
Replace adjectives with data
- “We made the performance much faster” → “We reduced server side tp90 latency from 10ms to 1ms”
Eliminate weasel words
- “nearly all customers” → “87% of Prime members”
- “significantly better” → “+25 basis points (bps)”
Does your writing pass the “So what” test? If you get a question, reply with one of the four Amazon answers:
- yes.
- no.
- A number.
- I don’t know (and will follow up when I do).
Be objective: avoid adjectives and adverbs
- Adjectives are imprecise and don’t contribute to making a decision
- Most Amazonians react negatively to buzzwords and qualifications without data
Subjective → Objective
- “Sales increased significantly in Q4, due to use of holiday promotions.” → “Unit sales increased by 40% in Q4 2011, compared to Q4 2010, because of holiday promotions.”
- “We made the application much faster.” → “We reduced server side trailing 90-day latency from 10ms to 1ms.”
- “This will make the endeavor extremely successful.” → “This will increase output by 2.5%.”
Avoid jargon and acronyms as they exclude non-experts and newcomers. Always explain technical terms, acronyms, and abbreviations the first time they appear
- Example: “After we sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)…”
Weasel words are vague and create the impression of meaning. Don’t use them!
- “would help the solution”
- “might bring clarity”
- “should result in benefits”
- “significantly better”
- “arguably the best”
Other Tips
“Clear, not clever”
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