Updated July 2023
Staying present in your content
Let's talk about will. No, not the cute guy in purchasing. The auxiliary verb (fancy!).
Most of us drop "will" (and other aux verbs like might, could, etc.) into our writing without a thought. Sometimes, like when we need to convey some future action that may or may not happen, it's necessary. But most of the time, it's not. And because of that, it plants a seed of doubt in our audience's mind. The more we use it, the less confidence our audience has in what we're saying. It also makes *us* less confident.
Deleting auxiliaries from your writing streamlines it and makes it more declarative and authoritative.
How to make your writing more influential
Let's take a closer look at the impact of "will".
ORIGINAL: We do strategic planning every year, but this time we built a road map for how we will achieve our goals and how we will measure ourselves.
REVISED: We do strategic planning every year, but this time we built a road map for how to achieve our goals and how to measure ourselves.
EVEN MORE REVISED: We do strategic planning every year, but this time we built a road map for achieving our goals and measuring progress.
Again, this isn't a blanket directive to never use auxiliary verbs. But next time you find yourself deploying one -- and especially will -- ask if it's really necessary. If it's not, axe that baby out of there!
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