Write Like Warren Buffett

WRITE OF PASSAGE:
Want to learn more about the next class Write of Passage?

PODCAST LINKS:

ABOUT THE HOST:
I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.

[DavidPerellChannel]

Tell me: What's the #1 thing you learned from my talk?

[vic_and_hugh]

an insanely good 13 minutes. This is the decade of Perell

[PaddyLamont]

Time to embrace the personal. Thanks for the great talk! I wish it were longer

[edwardboon]

I'm going to use this video in my marketing course. It's the best short video I've seen that explains the importance of clear writing and tells you how to do it.
Edit: And it mentions Warren Buffett, so even my Finance major students will be engaged.

[DavidPerellChannel]

Let's get to it... Why is Warren Buffett's writing so popular?

Every year, thousands of people flock to Omaha every spring to hear him speak (and drink Diet Coke). Here's what you can learn from his writing style:

1. You can stand out in the business world by writing like an actual human being.

2. Don't just write about ideas. Joke around. So goes Buffett's famous line: "It's only when the tide goes out that you find out who's been swimming naked."

3. Write to a specific person, not a faceless group of masses. Legend has it that Buffett addresses the early drafts of his annual letters to his sister (Dorothy) and replaces her name with 'Shareholders' once he's done with it.

4. You can differentiate yourself simply by writing with a different voice. Buffett tries to come across as a folky, hokey, aw-shucks kind of guy who's nothing like the kind of Suit Guy you'd find in Midtown Manhattan.

5. Read things that other people aren't willing to read. Historically, part of Buffett's edge is that he was obsessively reading 10-K filings before they were as accessible as they are now.

6. What's another example of Buffett doing things that others weren't willing to do? Friends tell me he used to call managers at various companies and get them to disclose their business plans, back when this was legal.

7. Deadlines are your nemesis in the moment, but your friend in retrospect. Buffett has no choice but to produce an annual letter every year, and those annual deadlines have made him a prolific writer.

8. Share your wisdom freely. You don't need to share all of it, but it can help to share some of it.

9. Don't just share ideas. Name them.

10. What's an example of naming your ideas? In business, it's common knowledge that a company's success can compound. For example, it'll take 12 years for a company to reach $1 billion in revenue but only one more to reach $2 billion. Scale leads to more scale. Buffett calls this "The Snowball Effect."

11. You don’t need to write much to have outsized success. Warren Buffett (and Jeff Bezos) have built their reputations by writing one excellent letter to shareholders every year.

12. If you're early in your career and don't know where to begin, start writing. Buffett attracted some of his early investors by publishing his ideas. His mentor, Ben Graham, did the same thing. He wrote two best-selling books on his way to getting rich by investing in Geico early.

13. Writing is a BS detector for your ideas. Buffett once said: "Some of the things I think I think, I find don’t make any sense when I start trying to write them down."

14. Oh, and one more thing: Maybe you should drink more Diet Coke?!?

This is only a slice of the talk I've shared below about Warren Buffett's writing style. It centers around a framework called POP Writing, which you'll immediately be able to bring into your own work.

[IZSIN]

Great video! I am loving every video you put out ever since someone recommended your channel to me

[saadalizeb]

Excellent talk. There is a typo on your second last slide. It's written Playful instead of Personal. For your kind information.

[SaadJaved]

Really love the idea of POP, but I have one question.

Suppose the thing that you are writing about is not from your personal experience. How do you share your personal experience to your readers?

Also love your videos❤

[AlexJ]

Hey David. Love the podcast. The questions you ask show true domain expertise. I've given many many many talks in my time. Let me know if you're open to feedback on this one 🙏

[upper]

David, I’ve made a few thumbnails for you and I would love to send you the different Thumbnails I’ve created for you!

If you like them you can use them anyway you want and if you don’t no worries.

You have so many followers and should be getting way more views, especially your Seinfeld episode.

[maramalamir]

Clarity&writung remmberable phrases has always been a struggle