Smooth Is Suspicious. Why the Most Polished Voice in the Room Is Often the Least Trusted

Your email doesn't sound junior because of your vocabulary. It sounds junior because you wanted something and let it show.

Everyone trying to sound more senior does the same thing. They add. Bigger words, more justification, more credentials in the signature. And every addition is a tell. The sound of someone who expects to be ignored.

High status in writing isn't something you add. It's what's left when you delete the need.

Jon sent an email last week that made him cringe when he read it back out loud. He knew better. We'd literally just recorded an episode about ghosting. He sent it anyway.

"So sorry to bother you again! I just wanted to quickly follow up and see if you maybe had a chance to take a look at the proposal I sent over last week. I know you're incredibly busy, so no rush at all..."

Seven tells of need in five sentences. And the worst part is it felt warm and considerate when he wrote it.

This episode takes that actual email apart line by line and rebuilds it using nothing but a delete key. No power words. No per my last email. No attempt to sound more senior. Just five specific cuts that remove the need and let the authority that was already there finally show up.

If you've ever reread something you sent and physically winced at how eager it sounded, this is the episode that explains exactly what happened and how to make sure it doesn't happen again.

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