Writing about writing in the age of CHAT GPT

Communication

April 1, 2023

5

Min

Writing about writing in the age of CHAT GPT

Example H2

My first memory of writing to influence was when I was in a high-pressure, high stake corporate role, I was at least three levels below the level of influence in key decision-making. CEO-COO- Head of the department, and then me. There were also other influences in the decision-making like the content head, the board, etc. My voice, especially an objection to a strategic decision, had no chance to carry any weight to the decision-makers. Instead of speaking in a meeting, I chose to send an email analyzing the decision, the alternative, and the loss to my superiors. They didn't acknowledge it explicitly, but my writing softened the decision. That strengthened my beliefs- firstly, no matter where you are in the hierarchy ladder, you can be heard; secondly, a clear thinking style is a game changer and thirdly most importantly writing is a weapon.

I have often been asked about my writing and after more than 120,000 words over 90 articles, I am here to tell you some tenets of my writing. There are largely four pillars to my style of writing:

1. Context setting in writing

Languages are thinking tools. In my primary years in school, in Hindi classes, I learned that

1) Ped bada hota hai and 2) Nadi behti hai. It means 1) the tree is large and 2) the river flows. The difference is visible in Hindi - The tree is a masculine gender and the river is a feminine gender.

Masculine Feminine

Bada (Large) Badi (large)

Behta (flows) Behti (flows)

It used to be frustrating to lose a mark for getting the gender wrong but our Hindi teacher made sure that we didn't escape it. She would assert, “Remember, ped bada hota hi and nadi behti hai.” Years later I realized she was not just teaching us the language but was also teaching us a feature of communication- context setting. This difference between Bada and Behti taught me the importance of context setting. Most of the time we got the gender right.

A great tool for simple, understandable communication is to write with context. The tree creates a context of something large, strong, and upright that relates to masculine personality, and at the same time, the delicate, fluid, and soft visual of a river sets the context of the feminine personality type. The context makes it easier to remember the gender.

The context helps us understand:

In this article, I have used events around us as the context. These events are a) Sania Mirza’s retirement, Smriti Mandhana's highest WPL bid, and International Women’s day. SCENT of a Working Woman.

Another example: the Gamestop event in the stock market, the Indian team's cricket win in Australia - Border Gavaskar Trophy was the context that made me urge to bring focus on the changing world because of democratization. Read the article here

2. Storytelling in writing

Engagement in the form of a story is to draw in the reader's interest. Unlike the context of the article, which is invisible to the reader, a story becomes the center of writing. It not only engages but also helps in setting the situation. A leadership skill I watched in a thief is one such story.

The Mammoth Power of Dhoni’s attention is another one. Read here.

How you start the story becomes your personal style, sometimes you can start the story by describing the tail of the elephant and not the trunk. In a non-fiction setting, where you start the point can shape the story.

3. Directions in writing

While the context can pull you in and the story will keep you engaged, my idea of writing is to keep it so simple that the reader can relate. I am conscious of the fact that I am not selling entertainment but I am selling skills, and habits for thinking, that are hard to train and take time to form. Clear directions on how to use the information help the reader bring that idea into action. The ability to apply your knowledge is the bedrock of critical thinking skills.

Often, when we read about mob behavior, we feel we are far away from it. But the truth is often, we are a part of the mob too. A mob can erupt on a WhatsApp group or in the cafeteria at your workplace. It is not the size of the mob, it is the nature of the mob that you need to be aware of and behave responsibly. The article gives clear directions for you to think about it.

Another instance of breaking down the concept into actionable steps is in this article which takes lessons from the rebound in basketball and brings them to business life.

4. Visual engagement in writing

All articles have a visual appeal to it. These are not just a cover for marketing but also a tool to pause, think, and remember. For some readers, visual memory is stronger than the memory of words. You may retain an idea, a line, a concept, or just a visual tool.

Reading my writing

I started writing my articles to make people understand that thinking skills come from our surroundings, and our reflections and by imbibing these in our daily work life. Gradually over the years, I found myself recommending articles to people.

You are reading this article on my newly designed, no-code platform- Webflow. A team of designers has helped me showcase all my writings in one place. While the themes are intertwined, there are six categories: Leadership, Communication, Self Improvement, Mental Models, Productivity & Decision Making. On the bottom of the page, you can toggle and select what interests you. They are not mutually exclusive but have been categorized to emphasize a particular area.

You can write to express, you can write to impress, you can write to grieve, you can write to influence, you can write daily or you can write occasionally. Whatever the reason may be, writing is a weapon that empowers you.

‍

Vishakha Singh, a prolific writer on thinking skills, annotates her articles written on mental models. Her experience comes from writing more than 120,000 words over 90 articles. She has four pillars for her writing style. She sets up a context for the article around events around that time. The context helps in developing aids of understanding.

In non-fiction writing, she uses devices of storytelling to engage readers. In all her writing, keeping it simple with directions makes this non-fiction, informational writing more meaningful. Visual appeal is used to help readers reflect and recall. Her articles on thinking skills are categorized into six sections and can be accessed on her website.

‍

People are fast movers, especially influencers on social media. It is amazing to see a new meme as soon as an event has happened. Right after Chat-GPT was launched, a Twitter thread on how to write prompts for Chat-GPT became viral. The thread was all about training people to write prompts. Maybe our thinking and writing skills will be reduced just to write prompts for AI-driven interfaces.

Chat GPT is like the chatter around us. Chatter, the word, brings a feeling of plenty of conversations in a close compartment where almost everyone is talking and almost no one is listening. In contrast, writing brings imagery when you are listening to your own mind talking to you, silently.

When I launched SHIFT as a course, I started writing to explain how attention to thinking skills enhanced one’s thinking. From one mental model to the other, from one event to another, my writing made it simpler to understand the events and situations around us. I have often been asked about writing, ideation, etc and in this article, I take you through the tenets of my writing style.

My first memory of writing to influence was when I was in a high-pressure, high stake corporate role, I was at least three levels below the level of influence in key decision-making. CEO-COO- Head of the department, and then me. There were also other influences in the decision-making like the content head, the board, etc. My voice, especially an objection to a strategic decision, had no chance to carry any weight to the decision-makers. Instead of speaking in a meeting, I chose to send an email analyzing the decision, the alternative, and the loss to my superiors. They didn't acknowledge it explicitly, but my writing softened the decision. That strengthened my beliefs- firstly, no matter where you are in the hierarchy ladder, you can be heard; secondly, a clear thinking style is a game changer and thirdly most importantly writing is a weapon.

I have often been asked about my writing and after more than 120,000 words over 90 articles, I am here to tell you some tenets of my writing. There are largely four pillars to my style of writing:

1. Context setting in writing

Languages are thinking tools. In my primary years in school, in Hindi classes, I learned that

1) Ped bada hota hai and 2) Nadi behti hai. It means 1) the tree is large and 2) the river flows. The difference is visible in Hindi - The tree is a masculine gender and the river is a feminine gender.

Masculine Feminine

Bada (Large) Badi (large)

Behta (flows) Behti (flows)

It used to be frustrating to lose a mark for getting the gender wrong but our Hindi teacher made sure that we didn't escape it. She would assert, “Remember, ped bada hota hi and nadi behti hai.” Years later I realized she was not just teaching us the language but was also teaching us a feature of communication- context setting. This difference between Bada and Behti taught me the importance of context setting. Most of the time we got the gender right.

A great tool for simple, understandable communication is to write with context. The tree creates a context of something large, strong, and upright that relates to masculine personality, and at the same time, the delicate, fluid, and soft visual of a river sets the context of the feminine personality type. The context makes it easier to remember the gender.

The context helps us understand:

In this article, I have used events around us as the context. These events are a) Sania Mirza’s retirement, Smriti Mandhana's highest WPL bid, and International Women’s day. SCENT of a Working Woman.

Another example: the Gamestop event in the stock market, the Indian team's cricket win in Australia - Border Gavaskar Trophy was the context that made me urge to bring focus on the changing world because of democratization. Read the article here

2. Storytelling in writing

Engagement in the form of a story is to draw in the reader's interest. Unlike the context of the article, which is invisible to the reader, a story becomes the center of writing. It not only engages but also helps in setting the situation. A leadership skill I watched in a thief is one such story.

The Mammoth Power of Dhoni’s attention is another one. Read here.

How you start the story becomes your personal style, sometimes you can start the story by describing the tail of the elephant and not the trunk. In a non-fiction setting, where you start the point can shape the story.

3. Directions in writing

While the context can pull you in and the story will keep you engaged, my idea of writing is to keep it so simple that the reader can relate. I am conscious of the fact that I am not selling entertainment but I am selling skills, and habits for thinking, that are hard to train and take time to form. Clear directions on how to use the information help the reader bring that idea into action. The ability to apply your knowledge is the bedrock of critical thinking skills.

Often, when we read about mob behavior, we feel we are far away from it. But the truth is often, we are a part of the mob too. A mob can erupt on a WhatsApp group or in the cafeteria at your workplace. It is not the size of the mob, it is the nature of the mob that you need to be aware of and behave responsibly. The article gives clear directions for you to think about it.

Another instance of breaking down the concept into actionable steps is in this article which takes lessons from the rebound in basketball and brings them to business life.

4. Visual engagement in writing

All articles have a visual appeal to it. These are not just a cover for marketing but also a tool to pause, think, and remember. For some readers, visual memory is stronger than the memory of words. You may retain an idea, a line, a concept, or just a visual tool.

Reading my writing

I started writing my articles to make people understand that thinking skills come from our surroundings, and our reflections and by imbibing these in our daily work life. Gradually over the years, I found myself recommending articles to people.

You are reading this article on my newly designed, no-code platform- Webflow. A team of designers has helped me showcase all my writings in one place. While the themes are intertwined, there are six categories: Leadership, Communication, Self Improvement, Mental Models, Productivity & Decision Making. On the bottom of the page, you can toggle and select what interests you. They are not mutually exclusive but have been categorized to emphasize a particular area.

You can write to express, you can write to impress, you can write to grieve, you can write to influence, you can write daily or you can write occasionally. Whatever the reason may be, writing is a weapon that empowers you.

‍

Summary

Vishakha Singh, a prolific writer on thinking skills, annotates her articles written on mental models. Her experience comes from writing more than 120,000 words over 90 articles. She has four pillars for her writing style. She sets up a context for the article around events around that time. The context helps in developing aids of understanding.

In non-fiction writing, she uses devices of storytelling to engage readers. In all her writing, keeping it simple with directions makes this non-fiction, informational writing more meaningful. Visual appeal is used to help readers reflect and recall. Her articles on thinking skills are categorized into six sections and can be accessed on her website.

‍

Writing about writing in the age of CHAT GPT

1. Context setting in writing

2. Storytelling in writing

3. Directions in writing

4. Visual engagement in writing

Reading my writing

1. Context setting in writing

2. Storytelling in writing

3. Directions in writing

4. Visual engagement in writing

Reading my writing

Writing about writing in the age of CHAT GPT

1. Context setting in writing

2. Storytelling in writing

3. Directions in writing

4. Visual engagement in writing

Reading my writing

This Article is part of the course if you want read the full article buy the shift course

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