When you think of a designer, what skills immediately come to mind? It's probably skills like creativity, technical ability, or drawing.
Those skills are all important. But there is another that is just as important.
The ability to write.
Having the ability to write means you can think clearly. It means you can organize all of those different thoughts in your head to clearly define a solution to a design brief. Honing your skills as a writer is synonymous with honing your skills as a thinker.
It means you can communicate your ideas with clarity. As much as I loathe my email inbox, email has become the de facto form of communication for the modern knowledge worker. Being able to present your work with concision and clarity is nearly as important as the work itself. Think about how many confusing emails you've received in the past week alone. How many times have you misinterpreted the tone or intent of a poorly written email?
And if you agree with me that the web is 90% typography, then you can conclude that writing is a big part of UX design. Choosing the best word for a navigational button is a lot more important than how it’s designed.
In reality, the ability to write well is a core skill for any knowledge worker. I can't think of a single role within the marketing, communications, or design industries that would not benefit from having a strong command of the written word.
I don't claim to excel at this skill. But I do try every day to get better. Here is one tip, and one resource you can put to work right now to become a better writer:
Ruthlessly edit everything you write. From copy destined for client products, all the way to the simple status emails you send to your teammates. Try to remove everything that isn't necessary. Then do it again. Try to get to the essential. Occasionally, I use tools like Grammarly and Hemingway to help steer me in the right direction.
Read the book On Writing Well by William Zinsser. This book is focused on writing non-fiction prose and is packed with lots of practical advice and examples. No matter if you are writing content for clients, or just internal emails to teammates, reading this book will make an immediate impact.
Become a better writer, and you become a better thinker and communicator. It will fundamentally improve your work and your relationship with your teammates.