Writing efficiently means accomplishing the writing task with the least waste of time and effort. When we talk about good writers, we generally refer to their quality: the inventiveness of ideas, fluency of syntax, and precision of diction. We don't talk enough about efficient writers, but we should. To prove my point, let's do a thought experiment.
Let's say you manage two business analysts, both fast typists. Kerry is 35, a native-born English speaker with a business degree from the United States, and Kim, 35, learned English in America at 22 with a business degree from Colombia. Kerry consistently produces excellent reports and proposals but does so at half the speed of Kim, whose quality is weaker than Kerry's. Kim's reports are as comprehensive and organized as Kerry's, but the sentence structure and word choice are usually off. Which analyst would you choose to write a critical review in a flash for upper management?
I would choose Kim. Kerry would get the job done flawlessly in four hours, and Kim with a bunch of linguistic errors in two hours. I would be able to fix Kim's flaws in 15 minutes and have an hour and forty-five minutes to spare for other business matters.
What is Kim's trick? Confidence. Having the right perspective about the writing process. Certainty that the draft will be good enough for review. Trust in the manager to improve it. Not stressing over the finished product. Understanding that writing quality is subjective. Now, if Kim were uncommitted to improving the quality, then I would eventually indicate this lapse on her performance evaluation and recommend that she improve her writing and her attitude. But speed is so important in businesses where people get hundreds of emails a day. I'll take Kim for any writing task knowing that she'll eventaually improve in her writing quality under my guidance. Kerry's problem, on the other hand, is psychological, and I am not a psychiatrist.
Efficiency is as valuable as effectiveness, and it starts with confidence.
