Chapter 7 : Writing Succinctly 85 Be Positive Your tone will be lighter and you'll use fewer words if you write positive rather than negative statements. The following example illustrates how your word count decreases with positive statements. NEGATIVE Do not write negative statements. (5 words) POSITIVE Write positive statements. (3 words) Trust the Reader Remember that your readers are intelligent, sentient, capable beings. No one likes to be told what they already know. Readers will resent hand-holding and excessive instructions. They especially don't want interface elements named and described, such as radio buttons, drop-down menus, and expanding and collapsing contents.