After a long professional career, it's not uncommon to look back and reflect
on what you might have done differently.

It's also not uncommon to hear this: "I wish I would have paid more attention
in English class."

The ability to write and communicate clearly is a skill that knows no
boundaries. Particularly in our internet-connected age, the ability to express
yourself well in writing is becoming a critical differentiator. If you can say
what you mean clearly and professionally, and perhaps even be a little
entertaining doing so, it can often turn out to be a key difference between
being just "good" at your job and being great at it.

And that's true for any job.

Now, you may have some very bad memories of writing from school. That's not at
all uncommon. What many people find later is that it's not the writing that
they hated at all; it was being forced to write about things they had no
interest in and knew nothing about.

You can probably relate: writing a report is the classic way to demonstrate
your knowledge of a subject in school. But if you don't know or care about the
subject matter then being forced to write about it makes the act of writing
itself a painful ordeal.

It turns out that most people find that writing becomes much easier when they
begin to write about things they know and care about. If you can get over that
obstacle, honing your language skills and your ability to communicate clearly
and effectively can begin.

And honing those abilities is key.

It's frightening the number of people who try to write but, to put it bluntly,
simply can't. Spend some time browsing comment submissions or other content on
the internet that's written by visitors, not writers. Perhaps you'll even see
it in the email in your own inbox.

Poor writers seem to fall into two broad categories: folks for whom English is
not their native language, and those who've grown up speaking English but don't
have the skills to write or speak it properly.

Whatever the reason, both are at a severe disadvantage. It's probably not fair,
and it may not be even be politically correct, but the practical reality is
that speaking and writing English well matters. It matters a lot.

There was once a commercial for a vocabulary product that stated "People judge
you by the words you use ...". Again, it may not be fair, but it's very, very
true. You might be the smartest, most qualified and professional person on the
planet, but if how you communicate sounds like a spoiled teenager that never
finished high school, you can expect that's exactly how you'll be thought of
and treated.

Take the time to learn to speak, write and communicate well. You'll find that
it's a worthy investment in yourself and your future opportunities.