RULE 23: WRITE WELL

We write for two purposes. We write for others to read, and we write for ourselves to read. How you write for yourself is immaterial. You can scribble illegible shorthand or write like a five-year-old. It doesn’t matter, just so long as no one else sees it. But how you write for others to read is of utmost and crucial importance. You will be judged on:
• What you write
• How your writing looks

Ah, but you say you don’t write anything; you type everything. Fine. So what typeface do you choose, and why? What point size, and why? And you must have to sign documents—that’s writing. Your signature is as open to judgment as anything else. I was once told that my signature was that of a very wealthy person. Good, although completely wrong, but it did indicate that I was getting close to the image I wanted to portray. A final point on this: always make your signature big—big signature, big person.

If you use handwriting a lot, then it needs to be
• Legible—It must be able to be read by everyone—or there simply is no point doing it and it is discourteous not to make the effort.
• Neat—No crossings out, all lines equal, that sort of thing.
• Stylish—A bit of a flourish here and there.
• Mature—Rounded letters and joined up.
• Consistent—The writing at the bottom of the page should look like the writing at the top of the page.

Watch your margins and the slope of your writing. You may not know it but margins—or signatures or any form of writing—that slope down towards the right of the page indicate a depressed person. Optimists slant upwards.

Make sure your spelling is correct and your grammar adequate—if not, study on it.

If you type a lot, use Times New Roman or Arial, 12 point, and only use italics or bold or underlining sparingly. Never mix typefaces—it betrays you as an unstable, immature personality, apparently—or point size. And you just thought it looked fun.

HOW YOU WRITE FOR OTHERS TO READ IS OF UTMOST AND CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE.