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Ernest Hemingway had this advice for writers: “When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe. You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling.”

No matter what you write, your ability to really see will help you be a better writer. I once read that Hemingway could go to a dinner party and know everyone inside and out by the time he left. He was a master of observation and he used that skill to really know people – who they were behind the veneer and what made them tick. And that, of course, made him an insightful writer.

You don’t need to be a novelist to put the power of observation to work for you. Even if you’re writing in the business arena, keen observation will enable you to focus in on what to write and how to best present it to a particular person or audience.

Start a personal habit. When you talk with people, do what Hemingway suggested: really listen. And look. Look them in the eyes and try to understand what they are trying to communicate to you. Use every word that comes out of their mouths to help you gain a better understanding of who they really are.

You’ll be surprised what a simple practice like this can do, not only in your writing, but in your life in general.

Believe it or not, there was actually a moment in time when someone – for the very first time – used the phrase “needle in a haystack.” Imagine that! No one had ever said or written that phrase before.

Those who heard or read it must have jolted upright, thinking, “Wow, now that’s genius!”

But they did more than that. They were so impressed they remembered it and started using it themselves, causing others to jolt upright and do the same.

That’s how clichés become clichés: they are so dead-on descriptive they spread like wildfire. The same can be said of hundreds of other phrases, such as “both sides of the coin,” “blow off steam,” “into thin air,” “head over heels,” “light at the end of the tunnel,” “between a rock and a hard place,” “beat a dead horse” and on and on and on.

The business world is a mine field of clichés. Listen to any conference room discussion and you’ll hear a boatload of gems, such as …

• raise the bar
• push the envelope
• think out of the box
• going forward
• take their temperature
• paradigm shift
• on the same page
• 30,000-foot level
• low-hanging fruit
• win-win situation

Perhaps the worst cliché in terms of being overused these days is “at the end of the day.” I have already attacked it in another article about catch phrases, so I won’t say more about it here.

… Okay, I’ll say just this much more: If you hear someone use it, jolt upright, feign shocked excitement and exclaim, “Did you just say, ‘at the end of the day’? What a wonderful phrase! I’ve never heard it before. It says exactly what you want it to say, but in a such a new, refreshing and easily understood way. Wow, I’m impressed! Could I just jot it down and maybe use it myself sometime? In fact, it’s so good I wouldn’t be surprised if it became a cliché some day!”

The perpetrator will get the point.

You’re probably thinking I’m now going to tell you not to deaden your writing with clichés. You’re right, but only partially right. Yes, clichés have a tendency to dull writing. But remember, they became clichés for the same reason that classic books became classics: they’re very good. The trick is to use clichés that are new and fresh enough that they do not cause people’s eyes to glass over.

There are a few out there. My favorite is “polishing a turd.” Granted, it’s a little crusty – certainly not meant for white linen dinner party conversation. But even the most prissy among us will have to admit to its brilliance. Use it and I guarantee you’ll get a reaction. But if you tell anyone I suggested it, I’ll deny it.

Anyone who writes (and that’s all of us) has faced the terror of the blank page and empty screen. There it is: a virgin canvas you must paint with words. So much potential. So much room for failure. So many possibilities. Too many possibilities. Where to begin? What to write? How to write it?

The author Gene Fowler nailed it when he said, “Writing is easy; all you do is sit staring at the blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.”

There’s a way to avoid the blood, sweat and tears of the blank page/empty screen syndrome, however. It’s a process, and I describe it fully in the manual, The Magic of Pre-Writing. But for now, here are a few quick tips:

1. Clearly identify the purpose of the piece you are writing. What are you trying to accomplish? Are you attempting to persuade someone to do something? What? Are you giving someone information? What information?
2. Visualize the person who will read what you are writing (your “audience.”) Think of what you know about that person. Climb into his or her skin. If you’re writing for more than one person, imagine someone who would is representative of that group.
3. Now, from inside the skin of that reader, ask yourself what you would want to read (or need to read) to ensure that the purpose of the written piece becomes a reality.

Let’s say you’re writing an e-mail to members of your business team to tell them to come to a meeting prepared to give their individual progress reports on the Omega Project. So your purpose is clear and simple: get them to come to the meeting – and to come prepared.

Now think about your readers, your audience. You know them well. Visualize a representative member of your team and step into his shoes. Imagine getting the e-mail. What messages will it have to convey to get you to the meeting prepared?

Obviously, you need to know the date, time and place. You also want to know how long the meeting will last. Plus, you need to know exactly what information you are expected to present in your progress report. It would be nice to know who will be in attendance. Although no one needs to persuade you to attend the meeting (it’s part of your job, after all) you would be more enthusiastic about going if you knew what positive outcomes the meeting is expected to produce. Finally, you want to know if you should confirm your receipt of the e-mail and your attendance.

Jot down those “wants” and “needs”….

1. Day and time
2. Place
3. Meeting duration
4. Exactly what information they should bring for their progress reports
5. Those who will be in attendance
6. Positive outcomes
7. Confirmation of attendance

Now all you need to do is provide that information. It could be as simple as:

There’s a meeting this Thursday at 10 a.m. in the board room. It should last an hour. Please bring your sector’s Omega Project stats for October’s sales and marketing activities. All members of our team should be in attendance, as well as Bill Smith, VP of operations. This meeting will bring us all up to date on each sector’s performance with the project and allow us to shift resources to any sectors that are struggling. Please e-mail me by 5 p.m. today to confirm your plans to attend.

That wasn’t so bad, was it? You simply identified your purpose and audience, put yourself in the skin of a member of that audience and identified what that reader would want and need to read in your e-mail in order to achieve your purpose. From there on, it’s like filling in the blanks.

No drops of blood on your forehead.

That sort of approach to a writing project is an effective deterrent to the blank screen syndrome. Granted, it doesn’t apply to all forms of writing. If you’re a poet or a novelist, for example, conquering the blank page can’t be approached with such a clear-cut step-by-step process. But then, if you’re a poet or a novelist, sweating blood comes with the territory.

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