September 2023 – Page 2

What’s your conversion story?

September 11, 2023September 24, 2024 Neera

Every successful coach knows they need a signature story.

The story that builds their creditability and inspires their audience to resonate with them.

But most coaches tell the wrong story.

They share a story that builds their credibility or connects with them but DOESN’T make the audience want to work with them.

They don’t need to tell their credibility story. They need to tell their conversion story.

A “conversion story” is the story of your transformation.

Your transformation story builds creditability, connects you with your audience, and leads them to want to work with you in your program.

People come to you for transformation. Show them how you did it.

My transformation story is:

I was a terrible writer.

In a performance review, my boss told me, “The only thing standing between you and a senior management position is your written English.”

I was crushed. I desperately wanted to succeed in my career. But in my heart, I knew he was right. English was my second language and my weakness. Rather than getting disheartened, I took his feedback as a challenge.

I joined a writing group.

I enrolled in writing courses.

I learned to write minutes, reports, and discussion papers.

I started working on improving my written English.

But instead of focusing just on business writing, I learned storytelling.

I gathered that writing was nothing but storytelling.

I learned to tell stories in my resume.

I started including stories in my reports.

I developed skills to weave stories in discussion papers.

With my storytelling, I not only won the senior management position I wanted, but I became the author of five books.

Now I coach others to write their books.

My transformation story is my conversion story.

They see my transformation and they think, “If she can do it, I can do it too.”

And that converts them from being my audience to my client.

What’s your “conversion story?”

7 Ways To Make Your Writing Punchy

September 9, 2023September 21, 2023 Neera

Dear Writer,

Is your writing sloppy?

Here are 7 ways to make it impactful.

Address your audience directly

Think of your audience as one person. You are not writing to the masses. You are writing to one person. Address them directly and you will have a much better impact.

Start with a hook

Begin your writing with a strong opening that captures the reader’s attention. This could be a surprising fact, a thought-provoking question, or a bold statement.

Vary sentence length

Mix up short and long sentences to create rhythm and maintain the reader’s interest. Short sentences emphasize key points. Longer sentences provide context.

Get rid of filler words

Words like “very,” “really,” “quite” etc. don’t add little to your writing other than making it weak. Removing them will make your writing more direct and impactful.

Create Contrast

Using contrasting ideas or concepts to create a sense of tension makes your writing more engaging. Opposing words, ideas, or even sentence structures make a good contrast.

Ask questions

Asking questions is a powerful way to make your reader think. You don’t have to provide answers all the time. Sometimes a question is sufficient.

Edit ruthlessly

Punchy writing often comes after multiple rounds of editing. Review your work. Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases. Avoid overly explaining concepts or blabbering.

Trust your readers will pick up your message without unnecessary repetition.

Remember, the goal of punchy writing is to grab your readers’ attention, convey your message clearly, and leave a lasting impact.

Are You In The Arena?

September 7, 2023September 21, 2023 Neera

When I started writing online, I was a terrible writer.

I chewed words.
I mixed up tenses.
My sentences were convoluted.
I made several spelling mistakes.

Once, in a writing workshop, a fellow writer said,
“Had it not been for the story, I would have thrown this submission against the wall for the number of grammatical and spelling errors it has.”

I was in tears that day.

I wanted to quit writing altogether.

I had spent hours editing and re-editing that chapter, and it was still that bad.

Then something happened.

I was surfing the internet, watching mindless videos to numb the pain when I came across the following video by Brene Brown.

The very quote by Theodore Roosevelt that changed Brene Brown’s life changed mine too.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

I sat upright.

My demeanor changed.

I made a decision at that time.

I am going to stay in the arena.

No matter what.

I kept writing.
I kept posting.
I kept creating.

And today I am the author of five books.
And teaching others how to write their books.

Don’t let your critics discourage you.
Don’t let perfection stop you from creating.
Don’t leave the arena because you are not good enough.

Because staying in the arena will be the only thing that will make you better.

Not just better, but unstoppable.

Do you want to be a productive writer?

September 2, 2023September 24, 2024 Neera

Two years ago, when I became a full-time writer, I went full throttle on several creative projects.

• I joined multiple courses.
• I wrote prolifically to populate my website.
• I dusted a three-year-old manuscript and started working on it.
• I started writing an article a day on Medium.
• I commenced a weekly publication.
• And a weekly newsletter.

“I am not working,” I told myself. “I have no excuse to slack. My output should be double or triple as before.”

On the contrary, my productivity dropped.
And I experienced a full-scale burnout.

While working on a paid job, I never had to worry about my productivity. Even when I was working on tight deadlines.

Even though I was working over ten hours a day and still couldn’t finish the tasks I had assigned to myself.

I over-committed and became obsessed with productivity.

I was continually stressed, exhausted, and feeling non-creative.

I was finally free to pursue my dreams, and I was nose-diving into a disaster.

Looking back, I see the problem wasn’t with the amount of work; it was with my approach.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking about productivity as the vehicle and made it the goal.

I’d lost sight of the purpose and meaning behind the work I was doing.

Every hour blocked off on my calendar, every task I added to my to-do list, and every project I started, tightened the grip on my heart and mind.

As I looked around myself, I found I wasn’t alone.

Every creator was going through the same.

Thankfully, I came out of this excruciating state.

I wrote my journey from a stressed and anxious for a relaxed productive writer in my new book “Become A Productive Writer. In the hope that it can help you to become relaxed and productive.

Get your copy today.