Firstly, let me apologize. I ghosted you for too long. I should have published this issue at least a couple of weeks ago, but for some reason, I couldn’t prioritize Cognition amongst all the activities I’ve been handling.

Perfectionism gets to me sometimes.

I want Cognition to be my best work. So I usually wait for the perfect time, mood, and topic to work on, which I realized affects the newsletter growth and your relationship with it.

I won’t make promises like “I’m gonna be consistent from hereon," but you can be assured that I’ll do my best—will focus more on publishing than publishing *the perfect* issue.

On that note, here are a few updates from my life since the last time we met:

• I travelled to Bangalore and Goa in the last two months—I gotta say travel is the best thing that happened to me in 2023.

• My clientele is growing, and I’m in a better space to produce quality outputs. A few exciting projects are on the line, and I guess I’m gonna have fun.

• I’m getting more international exposure with my work. Currently handling two international clients, which is truly broadening my perspectives not only as a professional but as a person too.

Also:

I started my personal blog. Believe me, it feels so good to express for the sake of expressing—creating for the fun of it.

It’s my diary but in public.

To give you more details, here is what you can expect from Vikra’s Café:

1. I share my unfiltered beliefs, BTS of life, and sometimes rants.

2. What you can expect: Glimpses of my personal life, ideas and opinions on a wide range of topics: cinema, music, characters, God, business, philosophy, books, travel, relationships, history, food, and many moreeee.

3. What you shouldn’t expect: Advices or educative content. If Vikra’s Café provides value, great! But I don’t intend to teach anything—I just express myself.

Show, Don’t Tell is not just a phrase anymore. After reading this issue, it becomes an actionable hack.

People give you a lot of bullshit about 'Show, Don't Tell' on the internet.

Ironically, gurus just TELL you to ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ in writing, but they never actually SHOW how.

It’s because showing in writing is not something you type out instantly.

To take info and convert it from TELLING TEXT to SHOWING TEXT takes effort. Conscious effort—to check, reframe and present the content.

Which is why, showing has been a nut most writers failed to crack.

But not anymore.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m saying it’s instantly actionable.

Here is how:

It is a vast domain of writing technique in itself, and I’m yet to explore most of it.

But…

Here is a simple rule I follow (tried & tested for 20+ clients) to SHOW, NOT TELL:

Doesn't matter if you write fiction, for businesses, or just your perspectives, this applies to all.

Brace yourself. Here comes the REAL hack:

Read that again. Word by word.

Don’t worry if you don’t get it immediately. I’ll take you through it step-by-step, methodically, with simple examples.

Won’t leave you hanging or in confusion.

Three examples to help you differentiate b/w showing and telling based on the simple rule I gave you:

Example 1: If the object is a person

Telling: I met this girl at an event. She's into sales, and she is super smart!

Showing: I met this girl at an event. She consulted 10+ startups, and 70% of the firms she worked with have seen a rise in revenue because of her sales strategies.

The effect on the reader:

You mentioned how she increased revenue with an insanely high success rate. Readers naturally *assume* her to be smart.

Example 2: If the object is a product

Telling: Our app allows you to import 1000+ email campaigns in seconds.

Showing: 300+ users imported 5837 {insert: counting meter} email campaigns in the last 45 days. Click here to import yours.

The effect on the reader:

You mentioned the scale at which the product operates. Gaining users' trust becomes easier because they see similar people trusting the same product.

Example 3: If the object is an idea

Telling: I have an idea about an app that analyses headings and gives you suggestions to improve them.

Showing: I spoke to 50+ writers last week. ~80% face difficulty in knowing if their headline is good enough. To solve this, I thought of an app that analyses headlines + gives actionable suggestions to improve them.

The effect on the reader:

You stated facts and *showed* that it's a real problem. Readers understand why your idea is important.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that's how you SHOW, not TELL.

It is just one of the many ways to show, but it is by far the shortest, simplest, and most effective way to produce elite content.

How to start applying this hack?

A cute little assignment you can take up:

1. Pick any one of your previous writeups

2. Identify objects

3. Understand what the objects want to tell the readers

4. Write down the text as if you are telling it directly

5. Now convert it into SHOW format from TELL format using the hack we learned today

With time, this becomes your second nature. Practice consistently and in a few months, you’ll show more often than you tell.

I think it’s a good place to park our Technical segment.

Let’s get to the fun stuff now. (Ah, this never gets boring!)

Non-Technical aka Fun Segment

Favourite quote from a book

I’m reading Deep Work rn, and the perspective is helping me shift the way I work.

In the quote mentioned, the author speaks about (in his words) how talent is not a commodity that you can buy in bulk and add up to the needed levels. There is a premium for being the best, which can only be achieved with deep work.

I might be missing the context here, but it’s a lovely book if you work with too many distractions.

Give it a try.

Movies/Shows I loved recently

I watched a few, tbh. Let me see what I can think of 🤔

1. Dada on Prime is a sweet story. Originally in Tamil.

2. Rana Naidu on Netflix was not great, but it wasn’t boring either. Lack of strong, defined motivation for characters made me zoned out of the show.

3. I love SRK, but Pathaan on Prime is a waste of time.

4. Balagam on Prime is a beautiful film. Originally in Telugu. Loved how they represented the soul of Telangana’s villages.

5. Sir on Netflix was okayish. Good one-time watch. Originally in Tamil.

6. Rewatched 3 idiots and Major.

7. Watched Farzi on Prime. Beautiful show.

Tweets I loved

Blog I read recently

Wrongful thinking and how to correct it

Song I’m listening to on a loop

Orange was re-released in theatres last week after 13 years!! And I’m still not over this song and the entire album.

Ever since the news about the re-release came out, I’ve been listening to this on a looooooooop.

That’s all I have for you from Cognition #25.

God, 25 issues—that’s BIGG!!

If you’ve loved what I write, teach, and share, please talk about Cognition on social media.

Help more people discover Cognition. It’d mean the world to me.

Have a great week ahead!

Take care, stay safe, and SHOW, don’t TEll.

Love,Vikra Vardhan