Business Writing Essentials

Most brilliant ideas die not because they’re bad, but because they’re pitched wrong. And that collapse usually happens in the first 90 seconds. A 2023 McKinsey study found that senior leaders make decisions up to 5x faster when information is presented with clarity and relevance rather than sequence and storytelling. And neuroscience backs this up. Our prefrontal cortex, the part involved in complex decision-making, has limited working-memory capacity (about 3–4 chunks of information at a time). If your pitch starts with a long background story, you overwhelm the very system you’re trying to engage. You feel you have no influence? Let’s fix that. 𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Executives process outcomes first, explanations second. Open with: “The decision I’m asking you to make today is…” This immediately reduces cognitive load and boosts listener retention by up to 30%, according to research. 𝟮. 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 Executives listen for impact drivers (P&L, risk, timing, strategic alignment, reputation…) If your idea doesn’t connect to their priorities, it becomes noise. 𝟯. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝟯-𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 Layer 1 The One Sentence Your idea in 12 words. If you can’t explain it simply, it’s not clear, and the brain can’t store it. Layer 2 The Value State the pain and the outcome. One slide. One paragraph. Keep it simple and straightforward. Layer 3 The Proof Pilot data, customer insight, small wins… you need facts that make the idea tangible. And remember... people trust a message more when it includes a concrete marker of progress. 𝟰. 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 Senior leaders don’t buy ideas. They buy safe momentum. Close with: “The smallest low-risk step we can take is…” Micro-commitments trigger the brain’s preference for loss avoidance. We’re more willing to start small because the perceived threat is low. And it goes without saying that you always need to prepare for objections. Executives consistently push on cost, risk, and timing. When you proactively address these, you signal confidence and reduce perceived uncertainty. Common mistakes that people make (that kill a pitch)? - Starting with a long narrative instead of the decision - Explaining the problem in painful detail - Using vague verbs such as “improve,” “optimize,” “enhance” - Not making an explicit ask - Pitching to be liked instead of aligned - Having no clue of the company’s priorities And a small trick before you enter the room to enhance your influence… Ask yourself: “What do I want them to feel?” Your intention shapes your tone and tone shapes the room. Ready? GO!

Here's my 36th column for Rolling Stone, “The Way We Communicate Is Holding Back the Way We Think, and How to Set It Free.” Shoutout to James Huerta for co-creating this model with me. We live in an age of extraordinary abundance with more data, more tools, more computing power than any civilization in history. Yet somehow, our imagination feels smaller. We’re drowning in information but starving for vision. We scroll endlessly, type endlessly, trying to express big dreams through little boxes. The irony is that in our pursuit of efficiency, we’ve built tools that have made our minds less free. We’ve compressed creativity into characters and lines, turning the act of dreaming into something that must fit between keystrokes. For decades, we’ve treated communication as a neutral vessel for thought, as if the words, tools, and technologies we use simply carry what’s already inside us. But that’s not how the mind works. The medium shapes the message. Typing invites precision, but it also invites hesitation. It trains us to edit as we go, to shrink the edges of our imagination so they fit neatly inside sentences. Voice, on the other hand, flows. When we speak, we share rhythm, emotion, breath, and belief. Speaking allows for the natural chaos of creativity to emerge before we tame it into order. A study from the University of Waterloo found that people generate 40% more novel ideas when brainstorming through voice instead of typing. That's efficiency, creativity, and imagination In this new column, I explore what I call the ladder from compression to expansion. It's a framework for reimagining the way we think. From bottom to top is: Letter Mode, where typing constrains us to linear precision. Word Mode, voice-to-text tools like Siri or Dictation. Flow Mode, where we speak in paragraphs and our minds follow a thread. Idea Mode, where voice notes become raw material for reflection. Synthesis Mode, where AI helps us find patterns. Vision Mode, the meeting point of human imagination and machine amplification, the space where futures are born. This isn’t about replacing human creativity; it’s about liberating it from outdated tools we're shackled to. Steve Jobs was known for his walking meetings, where ideas could breathe in motion. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. refined his speeches aloud, letting cadence and emotion guide meaning before words were ever written. Even AI models like Whisper are learning from voice first, because that’s where human thought is most alive, unfiltered, and real. If we want to expand our thinking, we must expand the containers we use to express it. We have to stop mistaking precision for depth. Stop thinking only in keystrokes. Start dreaming out loud. When you change how you communicate, you change how you think. And maybe, just maybe, that’s how we’ll start imagining at the level this moment demands. Model is in the comments below.

Can you use your voice if you're not loud? Yes. If... "let's get loud!" "speak up!" and "make your voice heard" don't resonate (or make you want to vomit in your mouth a little), not all is lost. Voice too often is conflated with a bullhorn. With protesting in public forums. With shouting from the mountain tops. With what you say in a meeting or on a call. But voice is how we move through the world. So the point isn't to imitate what others are doing, saying, posting, or at what decibel level. It's to know you who are you, what matters to you, and how you are practically and tangibly living out your values. It may be - how you're spending your time, money, energy - who you're writing, texting, or calling - the time you spend in nourishment, rest, and rejuvination - the conditions you put in your contracts and agreements - how you run a hiring process It may happen without fanfare and off social media, but the impact is real. Don't think your voice is any less powerful or worthwhile because it looks different than someone else's.

Last week, a client of mine asked if we could "dial back the tone" in their posts. Because a potential investor had said their voice was “a little too raw for a CEO.” And my first instinct was to say sure. After all, I get it. We all know how to shrink ourselves when the room feels too polished. But it made me wonder, what exactly are we softening, and who are we doing it for? Because the moment your writing starts to feel like a performance, the people who would’ve connected with the real you, the ones who would’ve said yes to your values... will start tuning out. You don’t need everyone to like your voice. You need the right people to recognize it. That includes clients, partners, investors, even your future team. And if your tone is “too much” for someone, that just means your clarity is doing its job. Be clear anyway. Be honest anyway. The cost of dilution is far higher than the cost of discomfort. P.S. Ever been told your tone was too much?

I’ll be honest: no one cares about what you write. Like how they didn’t care about what I wrote when I first started. In fact, my LinkedIn journey had one simple purpose: To write better. Along the way I found out something important: 👉 Keeping things simple works more than anything. 👉 I didn’t have to sound “smart” or “intelligent.” 👉 I just needed to be clear. --- So let’s open a can of worms. A lot of people avoid writing on LinkedIn because of this: 👉 “I’m afraid I’ll sound stupid.” 👉 “Who even wants to listen to me?” 👉 “I’m not polished enough to post.” Let me say this again: nobody cares. Nobody’s sitting here with a red pen waiting to mark your grammar. Nobody’s scoring you on “polish.” And honestly? People are way too busy worrying about their own lives to notice your tiny mistakes. What people do care about: your perspective, your story, your voice. --- ✅ Here's what I realized after two years of writing on LinkedIn: 1️⃣ Simple > complex Big words don’t impress. Just be clear. It's a post, not a textbook. 2️⃣ Stories > Statements A story about your first failed pitch will hit harder than a list of “10 sales tips.” Stories make people feel, not skim. 3️⃣ Voice matters more than polish You don’t need flawless grammar. You don’t need perfect structure. We’d rather hear you stumble honestly than read a corporate press release. 4️⃣ Nobody remembers your typos They remember how you made them nod, laugh, or think. A typo won’t kill your credibility. Silence will. 5️⃣ “Who even wants to listen to me?” More people than you think. The world doesn’t need another guru. It needs your perspective. What feels obvious to you is brand new to someone else. Your daily struggle might be someone else’s breakthrough. 6️⃣ “I’m afraid I’ll sound stupid.” Let’s be real: you will sound awkward at first. Everyone does. The first few posts are clumsy reps in the gym. But people don’t remember your awkward start. They remember your growth. Sounding stupid is temporary. Staying silent is permanent. 7️⃣ Consistency kills fear The more you write, the less you overthink. By post #10, you won’t care about “sounding stupid.” By post #50, you’ll be coaching others to start. 8️⃣ Engagement starts with being human Your quirks, your slang, your unpolished thoughts - that’s what builds connection. Not sounding like ChatGPT 4.0 with a corporate filter. 9️⃣ Polish is overrated Raw > perfect. Always. Nobody connects to a robot. Everybody connects to a human. --- If you’re thinking of writing, or just starting to write, now is the best time. Because LinkedIn is looking for people who are real enough to say something worth reading. So stop worrying about being “perfect.” Hit publish. See what happens. Because if you don’t speak, you’ll never know who needed to hear your voice today. 👉 What’s the number one thing that’s stopped you from posting on LinkedIn? ✌🏻

Your pitch deck doesn’t need more data. It needs more dopamine. In fundraising and sales, your biggest enemy isn’t logic – it’s indifference. Here’s how to transport your audience into your story – and why that makes their brain more likely to say “yes”. Transportation Theory: The Shortcut to the Brain In 2000, two researchers, Melanie Green and Tim Brock, coined the term Transportation Theory. It’s the idea that a well-told story doesn’t just entertain — it literally transports the listener into the story’s world. And here’s the kicker: once someone is transported, they become: ✅ Less critical ✅ More open ✅ Emotionally engaged That’s why stories sell. When our brains are transported: 🧩 We stop noticing gaps in logic 💓 We feel what the character feels 🧲 We lower our resistance to persuasion Sounds like exactly what you need when… 🧢 You’re a founder asking for €2M 💼 You’re in sales trying to close a €100K deal Let’s break it down 👇 💥 (A) How founders use it in fundraising - Don’t just pitch a product. Tell the origin story. - Start with a “Why” moment — a moment of frustration or insight that forced you to build this startup. “I was staring at my team’s Slack thread at 11 PM, trying to piece together what the hell had been agreed on in our last sprint planning... and I realized: our remote workflows were broken.” 🧠 That hooks the investor’s brain. You’ve pulled them into your world. Now you can guide them: Pain → Make them feel the problem Insight → Show what others missed Resolution → Introduce your product as the natural outcome 💡 Remember: logic comes after emotion. You pitch the numbers only once they care. 📣 (B) How salespeople use it in pitches Forget feature lists. Tell the story of a real user. “A few months ago, a product lead at [Customer X] told me their backlog was a graveyard of forgotten tasks. Two months after switching to our tool, they cut their dev cycle time by 40%.” Use classic story beats: - The relatable character (a person, not a company) - The obstacle (what sucked before) - The solution (how life is now better) 🎯 Key tip: Don’t sell the tool — sell the transformation. ✅ Wrap-up: How to implement Transportation Theory 🔲 Open with a scene. Pull the listener into your world. 🔄 Show change over time. That’s what a brain remembers. 🧍 Make it about a person, not a product. 🚫 Don’t list. Lead. Take them on a journey. Because in fundraising and sales, the brain you’re pitching to isn’t logical first — it’s emotional first. And storytelling is the fastest way in.

Most meetings don’t fail in the room. They fail before they start… and after they end. A meeting is not a 60-minute calendar block. It’s a process with 3 stages: Before. During. After. If you fix these, meetings become productive instead of performative. 1. Start with a written purpose (Before) If the meeting objective cannot be written in one clear sentence, cancel it. Bad: “Let’s discuss the project.” Good: “By the end, we will decide X and assign ownership for Y.” No purpose = no meeting. 2. Invite only owners, not spectators (Before) Meetings are not webinars. If someone is not: Deciding Contributing critical input Owning an action They don’t need to be there. Fewer people = faster decisions. 3. Share material in advance (Before) Meetings are for discussion and decisions, not silent reading. If people are seeing slides for the first time in the meeting, you’ve already lost half the time. Send pre-reads. Expect people to come prepared. 4. Run the meeting like a decision factory (During) Every agenda item must end in one of three outcomes: Decision made Action assigned (with owner + deadline) Explicitly parked If conversation is interesting but going nowhere, park it. Meetings are not thinking-out-loud therapy sessions. 5. Close the loop fast (After) The real work starts when the meeting ends. Within 24 hours, share: Decisions taken Actions, owners, deadlines What was parked If follow-ups are not tracked, meetings are just expensive conversations. A good meeting starts before the meeting and ends long after it. Preparation creates clarity. Follow-up creates results. Everything in between is just facilitation. Are you running or ruining your meetings? Which one of these tips makes most sense to you? ++++ I try to share practical, direct, no “cute crap" work/career tips. Follow me at Anshuman Tiwari and press the bell icon twice on my profile to get notifications when I post.

We don't prepare for effective meetings. But we can save time and boost outcomes with one rule. Here's how: Early in my career, I noticed meetings were often unproductive. 50% of the time was wasted without a clear agenda. So, I started using a 6-step formula to run meetings. 1. Prepare a Clear Agenda ↳ Create and distribute it in advance ↳ Include key topics: progress updates, challenges, tasks, decisions ↳ Set clear objectives for the meeting 2. Focus on Key Updates and Issues ↳ Start by reviewing action items from the previous meeting ↳ Have team members provide brief updates on their tasks and progress ↳ Discuss any roadblocks, challenges, or risks ↳ Prioritize the most important items for discussion 3. Encourage Participation ↳ Actively engage all team members to share updates and insights ↳ Allow time for problem-solving and brainstorming solutions 4. Manage Time Effectively ↳ Stick to the scheduled time for each agenda item ↳ Keep the meeting focused and on-track ↳ Consider setting a time limit for individual updates 5. Document Outcomes and Next Steps ↳ Assign clear action items and owners for follow-up tasks ↳ Summarize key decisions made and next steps ↳ Share meeting minutes/notes with all attendees afterward 6. Follow Up on Action Items ↳ Track commitments and hold people accountable. ↳ Ensure decisions are acted upon to maintain momentum Save this meeting rule: clear agenda → effective outcomes. Implement like a pro → Run meetings like a boss

The FOCUS™ Method to maximize meeting output. My Executive #Meeting Management technique. I facilitated a three day training and meeting management came up. We shared the SHARK Method but I also use “FOCUS” to maximize meeting especially with executives. Executives do not want “another meeting.” They want clarity, speed, and results. FOCUS is built for that. 🪀 F — Frame the Value • Begin with why this meeting matters. • State the strategic link: “This discussion directly impacts our ability to hit Q4 growth targets.” • Frame outcomes in terms of value acceleration, risk reduction, or opportunity capture. Why execs care: They instantly see the cost/benefit of their time investment. 🪀 O — Own the Agenda • Keep the agenda tied to decisions, not updates. • Explicitly assign owners to each agenda point: “John, walk us through the options. Maria, weigh in on risk.” • Ban “tour guide” updates; circulate dashboards in advance. Why execs care: They don’t want to watch presentations—they want to test thinking, make calls, and move forward. 🪀 C — Cut Distractions • Deploy a “red flag” rule: if discussion veers off-strategy, anyone can call “Flag”. • Park tactical items in a digital lot (handled offline). • Prioritize issues by value at stake, not by who speaks loudest. Why execs care: Protects their bandwidth. Meetings stay high-altitude, not dragged into weeds. 🪀 U — Unlock Decisions • Every agenda item must end with a decision: approve, reject, defer, or assign. • If not, ask: “What’s the barrier to deciding?” • Use real-time voting/polling if needed to accelerate consensus. • Document decisions visibly as they’re made (shared screen, whiteboard). Why execs care: It transforms meetings from discussions into engines of execution. 🪀 S — Seal with Next Steps • Close by summarizing 3 outputs only: 1. What we decided. 2. Who owns it. 3. By when. • Publish the decision log within 30 minutes. • End on the ROI: “This meeting unlocked $2M in value protection by clarifying X.” Why execs care: It leaves no ambiguity, no follow-up meeting sprawl, and ties back to results. Why FOCUS™ Gets Executive Attention 🪀 It respects time (short, sharp, strategic). 🪀 It centers value (always framed around outcomes, not process). 🪀 It builds accountability (owners, deadlines, visible decisions). 🪀 It creates momentum (decisions flow into execution immediately). #FolaElevates #projectmanagement #productivity #changemanagement #leadership #Meetingmanagement

Ok, raise your hand if you've ever been the "fuzzy meeting person." 🙋♀️ 🙋♀️ 🙋♀️ I’d schedule sessions with no clear agenda, no defined outcome, basically, “let's chat and figure it out.” I’d leave half-exhausted, half-confused, thinking: "Did anything just get decided? Who’s doing what? Could this have been an email?" Probably everyone else thought that too. Waste of time. It took me a while, but I realized: the problem wasn’t the team. It was me. My meetings lacked clarity + intent. So I decided to get scientific about it. I started analyzing my meeting transcriptions with CoPilot. I wanted to see: - How much time I spent talking vs listening - How often I stated an explicit decision - Where confusion or rambling crept in The results were… eye-opening. I wasn’t just scheduling fuzzy meetings, I was enabling them. Here’s the system I built to fix it: Step 1. Define the single purpose (SO IMPORTANT) Every meeting needs a north star: “By the end, what should people know, decide, or do?” Step 2. Structure the agenda around outcomes List topics → assign a single desired outcome + time limit. Step 3. Prep key points, lead with decisions Skip long-winded context. Deliver the decision first, context second. Step 4. Track your talk ratio Use AI to see if you’re dominating or clarifying. Adjust accordingly. Step 5. End with explicit next steps Who does what, by when. No assumptions. Step 6. Follow up in writing 1–2 bullets summarizing decisions + assigned owners (you can do this with AI). Send within 24 hours. I also send transcripts if necessary. The transformation? Meetings went from draining and fuzzy → purposeful, productive, and trust-building. My coworkers leave knowing exactly what to do, and I finally stopped wondering why work wasn’t getting done. People like me more (hopefully?). Also, generally reduced my meeting frequency by 20ish%. Effectiveness frees us time, who knew. Moral: meetings are time, money, and trust. If people feel like you schedule fuzzy meetings, they'll be less committed. Use those steps to focus more on your clarity and intent. How do you make meetings more effective?