Stop Writing Already

I can’t help marvelling the amount of completely superfluous writing we all do on a daily basis. We write blogs and text messages but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Think about all the writing that goes into reports, business proposals, university applications, job applications, any application, college projects, official reports – most of this is solicited work, rewarded with grades, admission or money. And yet, most of it goes unread. Nobody wants to read it. We pay money to make people who don’t want to write, write reports that nobody wants to read. Why?

The demand for “writing skills” in almost every job profile is nearly comical. Apparently the need for strong communication skills overshadows any technical or industry-specific skill one would require to get a job done. It’s more important to be able to talk or write about what one plans to do. Is this because the information age has put us out of touch with skills like writing complete sentences or being able to make conversation beyond “suuup?” or is it because jobs must involve useless, joyless activities? I suspect it’s a bit of both. And maybe much else that management never taught me.