> When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, your mind becomes powerfully concentrated. This reminds me of a scene from The Inner Circle [1] wher

> When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, your mind becomes powerfully concentrated. This reminds me of a scene from The Inner Circle [1] where Tom Hulce's character has just told Stalin that the Russian projectors were just cheap copies of the Germans'. The bureaucrat who is responsible is standing right there and realizes that he is now literally begging for his life. If beforehand he would have been officiously polite to this mere underling he now becomes powerfully concentrated. His every word is chiseled with a singular intent, to convince the projectionist to moderate his view ever so slightly, just enough to spare him his life if not his dignity. [1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103838/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103838/ More to the point, I think this writing advice is appropriate (very appropriate) for proposals and cold calls, where you do not have an ongoing relationship with your reader. In that case you are literally begging for your relevance. But in normal communications, clarity and simplicity is the rule. Orwell's advice comes to mind: insincerity is the enemy of clear language.