Hey Reader,

I puked a lot yesterday. No idea why. I didn’t have a fever or anything, just an upset stomach.

All I did was lie on the bed and binge-watch MAX’s The Pitt.

(A very graphic emergency room show, it’s a tough one to stomach, especially on a bad stomach. But it’s also highly addictive, and I had 11 episodes saved up, so my day consisted of me saying, “Maybe just one more.” Yes, I watched them all.)

I also did plenty of scrolling on social, and came across a video of Jon Stewart that felt new at first. But as I watched, I realized I’d not only seen it before…

I’d written about it. To you.

I had the thought, “I should look for that email and revive it.”

I started searching mail for my name as sender and “Stewart” in the message, and nothing came up — because Mac Mail’s “search function” is a misnomer. Mostly nonfunctional.

I had to run and puke again, and forgot about it.

This morning, I felt a bit better but all I could handle eating was a banana.

And that made me remember the subject line, which I found easily. It’s the same one I used today. I try to wait 6 months before rerunning a subject line, so 6 years seems more than ample.

Here’s the email I sent back then, with just a few tweaks.

——

Hey - you ever see this video?

Jon Stewart appeared before (a mostly empty) Congress to appeal for funding for 9/11 First Responders.

​Read the full transcript here.​

Gotdamn, is Jon Stewart a powerful speaker.

I mean, obvi. He kept our attention for many years with a daily show. THE Daily Show.

But this speech is something else — both in the delivery (animated, emotional, genuine) and in the writing.

That's true of most great speeches:

It's the delivery and the writing.

So, any time you listen to a great speech, dig around for some writing takeaways. They're always in there!

Now, if you watched this Jon Stewart video and wondered, "What makes the writing so good?" well then, nice job!

That's what I just told you to do. You get a cookie. And my take:

It's so good because it's specific.

The most standout moments, for me — at least, word-wise — are these quotes:

You see that specificity? Those concrete details?

Stewart could've said, "The terrorists didn't attack New York."

Instead, he said, "Al Qaeda didn't shout 'Death to Tribeca...'"

The "Tribeca" part is hyper-specific and also comedic.

Death to Tribeca: check out the juxtaposition between the sweeping rage of "Death to" and the puniness of "Tribeca."

Even if this wasn't a "funny" speech, touches like that — naming the particular neighborhood surrounding Ground Zero, which sounds even sillier when you know it's a super-expensive area full of converted loft condos and double-wide strollers — give it punch.

Maybe not laughs, but big "Amen" moments.

Same deal with quote number 2.

He could've said:

"Senate will use it as leverage to get themselves something in their own political interest."

But that doesn't exactly pop.

Instead, it was:

"Senate will use it as a political football to get themselves maybe another new import tax on petroleum."

Here, Stewart could've said "another new import tax."

Adding on petroleum makes it so much stronger.

Petroleum is another word that feels silly and, like Tribeca, a little puny.

We pair it mentally with “jelly” or “ointment” (both among the silliest of words) and picture a tub of Vaseline. Which makes me picture a rectal thermometer, because these horrors from age 3 stick with you for life.

Specifics strengthen your writing by 1037%

(Was going to say 10X, but 1037 sounds so much more specific.)

Whether you're writing bullet points for a sales page or an IG caption about your weekend, specific, concrete details make it infinitely more compelling and persuasive.

If you’ve been wondering how to make your writing stand out from the sea of generic AI dreck, that’s the answer:

Specifics. Original details.

AI will never come up with those on its own.

That said, it can certainly help you brainstorm specifics when they don’t come to mind.

For instance, today, Jon Stewart could ask ChatGPT “What are some obscure, overlooked items in congressional bills?”

I just tried it and found a few winners, like “tax benefits to horse breeders.”

I prefer petroleum, but you get the idea.

Bonus tip – leverage the last word.

Note that Stewart made "petroleum" the last word of the sentence. He also could've said "another new petroleum import tax." Not as good.

When you're going for punch, end on your strongest (or silliest or most surprising) word.

For instance, instead of:

"He didn't do anything to help, just sat eating a banana in the corner."

…how about:

"He didn't do anything to help, just sat in the corner eating a banana."

So much stronger, right? It makes this guy who didn't help sound like even more of a useless dick.

Someone (probably the banana lobby, since I'm in a politically resistant mood) decided that banana is the funniest, goofiest word in the English language.

So if 'banana' is in your sentence, you want to end on 'banana.' See? I just did.

This wasn't shaping up to be a funny email, but now, with all this banana...LOLZ!

Anyway, if you get jazzed by tiny tweaks you can make to your language to make it more powerful (and profitable), I've got a few godsends for you:

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They'll help make you and your brand and your writing style top banana.

xoLaura

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