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Transcript

Would You Rather Be Admired or Be Read? · The Daily Writer

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's a part of each one of us that wants to be admired.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: We want to be respected.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: We want other people to think of us highly.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: And why not?
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's completely in line with human nature.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: From the dawn of time, men and women have struggled to gain power over one another in order to get the attention and admiration of our peers.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: One of the ways that we do this as writers is to try and appear smart.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: We use big words and sometimes throw in obscure references in our writing in the hopes that others will think we're accomplished or intelligent.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a lot of people in the academic world fall prey to this type of thinking, believing that more degrees and titles and ever more complicated papers or perhaps a dissertation will finally earn them the respect they deserve.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that isn't to say that academic study is a waste of time, it's far from it.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: But let's face it, a lot of academic writing has more to do with posturing and making the writer look smart rather than being actually useful.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes big words are necessary, of course, depending on the context, but for the most part, the best writing is always simple, clear, and direct.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Think of the most effective communicators in history, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, or Ronald Reagan.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: They used simple words, they told stories, and they communicated in order to make their meaning clear.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: The famous novelist Jack Kerouac said, One day I will find the right words and they will be simple.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Indeed, the right words are almost always simple rather than being hard to understand.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing wrong with sounding smart and having other people admire you for your knowledge, but isn't it so much better to have people actually read your writing and not only read it, but understand and share it as well.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to today's episode.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: For more, you can visit us at dailywriterlife.com.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow.