21. Who talks like that?

I want to know what something does, why it matters, and whether it would help me.

If the explanation starts with “unlocking actionable insights to optimize athlete outcomes,” I’m going to ask what the hell that means.

If the answer is “you can compare workouts,” we could have started there.

We can talk about complicated things in ordinary language. We can be specific, explain the details, and still sound like two coaches having a conversation.

We can even enjoy ourselves. Nobody said useful information had to be miserable to read.

My editing test is pretty simple: would I say this to another coach at practice? If I’d feel ridiculous saying it out loud, it probably doesn’t belong on the website.

“Who talks like that?” has saved me from publishing quite a few sentences.