{"id":6029,"date":"2026-02-28T22:23:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/?p=6029"},"modified":"2026-03-31T18:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T17:18:10","slug":"two-understated-habits-that-guarantee-your-superior-writing-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/28\/two-understated-habits-that-guarantee-your-superior-writing-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Understated Habits That Guarantee Your Superior Writing Skills"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I peered at the screen. Leaning forward and looking directly at the webcam, like I always advise speakers to do to mirror in-person eye contact, I paused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Two non-negotiable habits improve your writing over time\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, noting the participants’ curious nonverbal cues, I changed my tone, increased my volume, and milked the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘They\u2019re so simple that when I mention them, you’ll be surprised.  But…’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so goes my routine announcement when facilitating a writing class with a new cohort of executive MBA participants at the Lagos Business School. (In this Financial Times-ranked business school, I work part-time.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it’s my first virtual session with them or an in-person engagement on campus, my goal is the same:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make a strong case to cultivate two underestimated habits and inspire them to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve tested the habits over the years and can attest to how they unexpectedly transformed my writing. And no academic revelation or research led me to that conclusion (although renowned writers swear by them in different ways). I consistently applied them alongside other writing mechanics and realised they were powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, whatever your field, writing well gets you noticed. But excellent writing leads to direct and indirect benefits<\/a>, including influencing people with or without formal authority and inspiring change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commit to the two habits below to transform your writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Habit #1: Read well-written materials<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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You’re probably wondering what the correlation is between reading good materials and writing effectively to improve results. I’ve tackled the issue in lectures, in international podcasts where I’ve been invited to speak, and even on local radio channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only should you read regularly, but you should discriminate what you read. Reading selectively by focusing on the quality<\/em> of the pieces (and not the genre) does two simple, yet practical things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A) It helps you unlearn decades-long exposure to bad writing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Undoing the negative effects<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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This harmful exposure includes poor grammar, maddening uses (e.g. excessive capitalisation), ambiguous writing, confusing constructions, and incorrect punctuation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the unfortunate sequence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I) You learn a wrong construction as a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

II) You see it repeatedly reinforced in poor-quality materials, which cements the error over decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

III) You then become so accustomed to that error that when you’re exposed to the truth (e.g., in a communication course at university or during an MBA programme), you’re convinced the correct version is wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was my experience when I had to unlearn wrong grammar and other expressions. When I was younger, my mum would correct me on some error, and when I became sceptical, she’d tell me dryly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘You\u2019re so used to the wrong one that the right one seems wrong’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decades later, I’d teach a similar observation in the business school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, be on your guard against some ‘harmless’ mistakes you’ve heard or seen in print. These often take the form of a malapropism \u2014 or a folk etymology \u2014 where a familiar word mistakenly replaces the original, stripping away the idiom’s history or logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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