Concise Writing Skill Builder: Avoid Those 'To Be' Verbs!

[@sobersixty]

Using the lessons from this session I have cut down the emails I send, now I just need to educate a few of my colleagues who still send longgggggggggg mails . Thanks so much

[@HighValueWriting]

😜 So true! Thanks for your comment, and I'm glad to hear the strategy has helped. I've been the same way [Erin here]-I used to find so many uses of "is" and "was" in my writing, and this approach has completely changed everything.

[@gem9535]

"We were able to push the rock off our friend." "We pushed the rock off our friend."

[@HighValueWriting]

🤪 🤩 That works! And just look at all the time you saved for actually pushing that rock! ;)

[@Christopher_Resonetics]

Nice! And your friend thanks you too. 😉

[@WorldInterestingNews]

Very interesting tips in english writing

[@HighValueWriting]

Thank you! Avoiding "to be" really does help us write more concisely.😁

[@LotusMystery]

I mostly write in Brazilian Portuguese, but since Portuguese and English belong to the Indo-European family, these tips are useful. Thanks for sharing.

[@HighValueWriting]

So glad to hear it! Thanks, @LotusMystery. Are you writing in B.P. for work, school, or personal/creative writing?

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

Another way to become concise is to just cut volume. Cut 20% and tell yourself that’s absolutely it. Then cut another 10%, keeping and reformulating only the content essential to the argument or point being put across. You’ll find out if it’s truly coherent or not by then.

[@HighValueWriting]

That's a great idea; thanks for sharing. Your process will help writers make sure we hit the most essential part of our message, and force us to let go of what isn't our core point or argument.

[@newishwavemusic]

Yes, and I love the focus on reformulating each time. Great way to revise with purpose!

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

@@newishwavemusicYeah - It’s kinda recalibrating the whole thing and tightening the throughline on every pass I guess. But even if the whole escapes you momentarily when you’re nose down in the dirt, just making short, concise sentences without flannel will still eventually get you in the ballpark and the exercise should allow for an improved global view of the piece once you’ve powered through to the end … editing is also just rehearsing what you did, which should help optimize the unconscious processing part of both academic analysis and creative writing.

[@HighValueWriting]

Excellent! I love the idea of going into the sort of "micro" aspects of the writing and then back out to the "macro" and being able to really see and learn about what you're saying through these two perspectives. I'm also now thinking, based on what you said about the unconscious, that this would also be a great strategy to use for speaking-helping one remember, convey emotion when live, etc.

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

@@HighValueWriting Thanks - for me it can eliminate some unnecessary stress to understand what perspective I am currently on - micro and macro is a perfect way to describe it - it just helps me not to worry about any feelings of confusion or being a bit lost in the whole thing, and my strategies are usually quite different depending on which level I am at. But it really helps knowing from experience that whatever may be unclear will crystallize, a lot of the time on its’ own as long as I keep at it and keep making good decisions at the local level. It’s like learning a song while writing it and committing it to more of a mental muscle memory that still has a lot of plasticity. You’re right, about the public speaking I think, I tend to put a lot of work into what I want to say in slides, and then when I am there I usually barely use them and it comes out fairly naturally and spontaneously (which I believe facilitates audience reception). If I hadn’t done them and obsessed about the words, I would not have been able to throw them away and come at the subject matter based more on how the social situation evolves while teaching or doing the presentation. I am frequently surprised how much detail that I was not sure I’d ever remember again is retained from preparation and reactivated in those more open presentations. I think of working actively with the unconscious as “developing strategies for working with that which you cannot control”. I believe you can prime it to some extent through thorough research with a guided focus, and by making it explicit what you want from it, and I believe unconscious processing has some capacity for creative problem solving and a good portion of the literature, seems to bear this out. I sometimes literally go to bed after a days work on a problem saying “I’d like a solution to this particular problem” and be quite concise as it were about it. More often than not a solution will present itself next morning, if I’ve put enough hours into working with prior. Most of the work I did on my thesis would be drilling into some focal point at the micro level, then going for a walk, actively NOT thinking about the work, and within the first 15-20 minutes the next iteration, opening or sudden inspiration would usually present itself on it’s own, in context and as seen from the macro level. Then I’d drill into that and go for another walk. I never really sat down to force out “new stuff” by thinking obsessively about it. I’d read, research, do analysis and Immerse myself in the circumstances of whatever the problem and then write until spent, then go for another walk and the next thing would arrive …

[@ericaju1382]

Thanks,it helps me a lot.

[@HighValueWriting]

That's great, Erica; you're welcome!

[@tleales]

Thank you so much! You stroke at the heart of the problem I faced for so many years as a byproduct of my readings in philosophy. Yes, philosophical works are fretted with to be or not to be in the four corners of each page. I am in debt--or, do I owe you?

[@HighValueWriting]

Hi Theo, so glad you found the verb insights helpful! Totally agree: If you've been studying philosophy, you're accustomed to some pretty drawn out analytic verbs! There's also a "Nouns Over Verbs" video that relates to this concept in some ways as well, if you'd like to check that out. Glad to meet you and welcome to the channel! -Erin

[@robertagallant3819]

How do I replace "to be" verbs with dead verbs in the following paragraph? Disneyland is the greatest theme park in Southern California. Its rides range from thrilling to relaxing, so there is something for everybody, no matter his or her age. Restaurants of all kinds can be found to accommodate every taste. Every "land" has its own theme and feel to it. A day spent at Disneyland is a good day! I would like you to teach me how to replace "to be" verbs with dead verbs online for a change. As a child, I did not receive a proper education.

[@HighValueWriting]

Hi Roberta-I'd try this with verbs like "offer," "provide," or "include" here. It's ok to use "is" now and then, but the trouble is, that word makes us less concise. With the above examples, it could be reorganized to use sentences like: "Disneyland offers amazing rides, food, and opportunities for fun." or "Restaurants include food from around the world..." It's often tough to swap out the verb, so a new approach might be needed. In these cases, what I did was focus on the "WHO" of the sentences (Disneyland, restaurants), and then gave them their own active verb.

[@ericcartier2233]

very intersting cause it carries over to our ways of speaking too!!!

[@HighValueWriting]

Right? Such a great point, Eric. I feel like even our speaking can be more powerful and to the point with strong verbs. What types of overlaps do you often see between writing and speaking?

[@robertagallant3819]

How to edit out the "to be" verbs in the following paragraph: The British ocean liner Titanic was a large ship that thought to be unsinkable. The Titanic made its first in 1912. It was scheduled to sail from England to New York The ship was about 1,600 miles from New York when it collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic. This collision caused a gash 300 feet long in the ship's hull. It took two hours and forty minutes for the Titanic to sink. The worst part was that there were not enough lifeboats for everyone. Tragically, about 1,400 people died that night. Due to many lives lost, the sinking of the Titanic is considered to be the deadliest peacetime, maritime disaster in modern history. The Titanic has undoubtedly become one of the most famous ships in history. Their memory is kept alive by numerous books, folk songs, movies, exhibits, and memorials.

[@HighValueWriting]

Interesting example; thanks, Roberta! I do believe we sometimes need "to be" verbs-mainly just if we're defining things. While we don't want to use them if our goal is (!!!) to be concise, we sometimes want to use them to declare a fact. However, I think a few lines in this passage could potentially be edited to start with a more specific subject-whichever subject the author would like to put their focus on. For example, we might feel a difference between "The worst part was that there were not enough lifeboats," to "Not everyone fit on the lifeboats." By doing this, we put attention on the people suffering in the accident-an example of how we can toggle focus-but only if this is the writer's goal. I also feel like "to be" verbs create a descriptive feeling, vs a feeling of action. For example, "It was scheduled to sail," vs. "It sailed." (Sometimes these aren't the same thing, but maybe in this case, they do have the same meaning...) Some ideas! 😁

[@robertagallant3819]

Erin, how does the following paragraph sound and look now? Does it need some more editing work? The British ocean liner Titanic was a large ship that thought to be unsinkable. The Titanic made its first in 1912. It sailed from England to New York The ship was about 1,600 miles from New York when it collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic. This collision caused a gash 300 feet long in the ship's hull. It took two hours and forty minutes for the Titanic to sink. Not everyone fits in the lifeboats. Tragically, about 1,400 people died that night. Due to many lives lost, the sinking of the Titanic is considered to be the deadliest peacetime, maritime disaster in modern history. The Titanic has undoubtedly become one of the most famous ships in history. Their memory is kept alive by numerous books, folk songs, movies, exhibits, and memorials.

[@felipefuquenemoreno6495]

Fantastic!!! I love your videos. Thks.

[@HighValueWriting]

Glad to hear it, Felipe-thank you!

[@junaidahmed728]

If I got it right: Simply avoid using is/am/are after a noun or a pronoun to make writing concise.

[@HighValueWriting]

Yes, exactly-good summary. Once you've written your subject or "doer," choose a meaningful, visual verb to put next, rather than is/am/are, etc. Thanks Junaid!

[@bathos22]

Thanks for this summary🙏🏽

[@bathos22]

​@@HighValueWritingAHA! 🙏🏽

[@newishwavemusic]

Exactly! Because those particular verbs always bring fluff words with them, we won’t have fluff in the first place, if we avoid them. 😊

[@Librarian_Dude]

@@bathos22 YES! I've had a few "AHA" moments watching these videos too. 😀

[@gnugen]

Ha! @03:06. I clean the kitchen each night. 🤣

[@HighValueWriting]

Love it!!

[@pervaizyaseeni8937]

Outstanding, I am keen to use phrasal verbs in my professional writing. Is it a good idea to use phrasal verbs? What are your suggestions about integrating phrasal verbs in email writing?

[@HighValueWriting]

Hi Pervaiz, great question. Yes, phrasal verbs would work well in emails and any kind of writing, really. For example, we might say "I hope your morning *turned out* well," or "Your idea helped me *level up* my article," or "We appreciate your opinion and would like to *get together* to chat and learn more."

[@pervaizyaseeni8937]

@@HighValueWriting Thanks

[@HighValueWriting]

No problem! Using phrasal verbs can help us *break away* from typical verbs and sentences. ;)