The most enduring lesson was an attitudinal shift toward the reader. The book's stance is that the reader is capable of and interested in understanding whatever it is that you want to say, and your job is not to dazzle her, or persuade her, but rather to provide her the conceptual building blocks to conclude what you have yourself concluded.

After reading the book I realized that, without ever having consciously decided to, I had been writing at least a little bit to signal how smart and creative and insightful I was, vs trying to communicate effectively. This was a revelation, and not a happy one -- so much misdirected vanity, to so little purpose!