WRITING ENHANCEMENTS · THE ESSENTIALS: AMPLIFY + INTENSIFY
This article is part of Language Forging™.
Language Forging™ is the deliberate shaping of words and their delivery to optimally engage, influence, and inspire.
Drawing from fields like rhetoric, communications, advertising, and storytelling, Language Forging™ requires continuous development of two core competencies: Writing Enhancements for crafting magnetic language and Speaking Enhancements for presenting those words with impact. Through dedicated practice, a Language Forger™ perpetually hones these skills and applies them strategically to invite people in, spark curiosity, and inspire action.
Specifically, this article on asyndeton is part of Writing Enhancements: The Essentials, which includes 25+ proven rhetorical devices that make your writing easier to read, easier to remember, and harder to ignore. Deliberate language is a learnable skill.
This article includes:
- Asyndeton, with a plain-English definition, pronunciation, and a practical how-to
- Examples – notated so you can watch the device work
- Quick Exercises – quick on-the-spot exercises, with suggested answers at the bottom
- Your Turn – specific suggestions to use asyndeton to your advantage, today
Write Deliberately. Be Remembered.
Amplifying does not always mean adding. Over a century of novels shows the trend clearly: w riting that endures got simpler, not fancier with shorter sentences and simpler words (W. Danielson et al., 1989).
Writing Enhancement Category: Amplify + Intensify. “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” In his 1961 inaugural address, John F. Kennedy could have placed an “and” before “oppose any foe.” He left it out. Five promises arrive back to back, with nothing to signal the end.
That is asyndeton. Removing the connecting words, usually “and,” that normally sit between the items in a list. Without them, your list moves faster and feels more urgent.
Here is why it works. In a normal list, “and” signals the last item is coming. Your reader hears it and relaxes one item early. Remove the “and,” and your reader gets no warning. The list keeps its momentum all the way to the last item, which is usually the one you care about most.
Most business writing does the opposite. We add “and” because it sounds polite and finished. Asyndeton trades that small courtesy for speed, so your most sentence lands with force instead of trailing off.
Below you will find the definition, examples, and a way to use asyndeton today.
About Asyndeton
| Definition | Omit conjunctions between words or phrases for speed and urgency. Keep to three words or less per phrase. |
| Explanation | The conjunction is an easy word to remove. Take it out and the remaining items land as separate beats instead of arriving as one thought. Asyndeton’s opposite, polysyndeton, adds conjunctions on purpose to slow a passage down and make it feel weighty. Same list, opposite tempo, and the choice between them is yours to make. |
| Pronunciation | uh – SIN – duh – ton |
| Related to | Brachylogia, Epizeuxis, Polysyndeton, Tricolon |
| Etymology | From the Greek ἀσύνδετον (asyndeton), meaning “unconnected,” from a- (“not”) and syndetos (“bound together”), from syndein (“to bind together”) |
| How to Use | Keep each item to three words or fewer so the beats stay even as long phrases turn speed into strain. Use it sparingly such as with a closing line, a promise, a verdict. Punctuate with periods for maximum force or commas for a lighter run. Resist the pull to stack four, five, six items when three hits hardest. |
| Best for | – Closing lines and final slides: The last thing your audience hears should move at the speed you want them to act. – Taglines: Three unconnected beats fit anywhere and still sound like a promise. – Product + Service Descriptions: Buyers scan, so a conjunction-free list gives them the whole value in one glance. – Live Remarks, Toasts, + Introductions: Removing the conjunctions gives your voice three clean places to land. – Social Posts + Video Scripts: Speed is the format, and asyndeton is the fastest way to say three things. |
EXAMPLES OF ASYNDETON
See how asyndeton increases the effectiveness and impact of your words. Then, experiment, mixing and combining other Writing Enhancements in your written, spoken, and social media communications.
Example 1: Howard E. Wadin & Stephen Templin, Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal Sniper
| Without Notation | The torment continued, throughout each day. Pushups, runs, pushups. Calisthenics. Pushups… Swims… Pushups. Obstacle course… Day after day… Week after week. |
| With Notation |
The torment continued, throughout each day. { Pushups, runs, pushups. Calisthenics. Pushups… Swims… Pushups. Obstacle course… Day after day… Week after week }. |
Example 2: Robin Givhan, Washington Post, July 2018
| Without Notation | The message was clear, after all. Recoil. Agree. Shrug. She does not care. About what, precisely?
About opinions. About expectations. About anything. “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?” |
| With Notation |
The message was clear, after all. { Recoil. Agree. Shrug. She does not care. } About what, precisely?
{ About opinions. About expectations. About anything. } “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?” Note: { About opinions. About expectations. About anything. } is also an example of Anaphora. |
Example 3: Man of Many Blog, August 2016
| Without Notation | “Epic screen size. Epic display. Epic camera. Epic everything. Of course, Casey got himself the iPhone X.” |
| With Notation |
“{ Epic screen size. Epic display. Epic camera. Epic everything. } Of course, Casey got himself the iPhone X.”
Note: { Epic screen size. Epic display. Epic camera. Epic everything. } is also an example of Anaphora. |
Example 4: Tom Klein, Chief Marketing Officer, MailChimp, Marketing News of the AMA, 2018
| Without Notation | The best practice for sending is a lot of testing. Testing the message, testing the creative, testing the content, testing the timing. |
| With Notation |
The best practice for sending is a lot of testing. { Testing the message, testing the creative, testing the content, testing the timing. }
Note: { Testing the message, testing the creative, testing the content, testing the timing.} is also an example of Anaphora. |
Example 5: From One of My Student’s Final Presentation
| Without Notation | “Early one morning the head pediatrician entered my room asking, “would you be interested in speaking to a group of medical students to share your experience?” I had thought, “why not, I’m tired of laying here doing nothing, sulking in pain.” I ate, drank, laid, slept, walked. Nothing helped. Every four hours I’d hear {Beep, Beep, Beep}, alerting me that I am due for the much-anticipated dose of morphine.” |
| With Notation |
Early one morning the head pediatrician entered my room asking, “would you be interested in speaking to a group of medical students to share your experience?” I had thought, “why not, I’m tired of laying here doing nothing, sulking in pain.” I { ate, drank, laid, slept, walked. Nothing helped. } Every four hours I’d hear {Beep, Beep, Beep}, alerting me that I am due for the much-anticipated dose of morphine.
Note: { Beep, Beep, Beep } is an example of Onomatopoeia. |
Example 6: Julius Caesar’s Veni, Vidi, Vici from his Letter to the Roman Senate
| Without Notation | “Veni, vidi, vici” when translated into English, becomes becomes, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” |
| With Notation |
“Veni, vidi, vici” when translated into English, becomes becomes, “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
Note: The repetition of “I” in “I came, I saw, I conquered.” is Anaphora |
Example 7: John Scalzi’s LinkedIn Profile Professional Headline
| Without Notation | A few years ago I wrote about how interesting John Scalzi’s LinkedIn profile was. And just as interesting is his use of Asyndeton in his professional headline. It reads, “I write. I edit. I get paid. I fight crime! I lied about that last one.” |
| With Notation |
“I write. I edit. I get paid. I fight crime! I lied about that last one.”
Note: The repetition of “I” in “I write. I edit. I get paid. I fight crime! I lied about that last one.” is Anaphora |
ON-THE-SPOT EXERCISES
Below are three “Before” passages without epizeuxis applied. Rewrite each one before reading further (no peeking!). Our suggested “After” versions are listed at the bottom.
On-the-Spot Exercise 1
Before: Our on-boarding program shortens ramp time, and it reduces early attrition, and it gives every new manager a clear plan for the first ninety days.
On-the-Spot Exercise 2
Before: I want to be clear about where the project stands. We are behind schedule, and we are over budget, and we are still confident we can ship this quarter.
On-the-Spot Exercise 3
Before: It is quick to set up, and it is simple to use every day, and it costs less each month than what you are paying now.
Your Turn — Next Steps
This Week: Choose one list. Deliver it without conjunctions.
This Month: Tighten one full proposal or web page by cutting conjunctions where speed serves. And read every list aloud for pace.
Next Six Months: Make pace a deliberate choice in everything you ship. Master the sprint (asyndeton) and the march (polysyndeton), and command the tempo of every room you speak in.
Questions about applying asyndeton to your communication materials? Contact us.
References and the Series
This article series goes beyond choosing better words. Drawing from rhetoric, communications, advertising, and storytelling, Language Forging™ builds two core competencies you develop continuously throughout your career.
Writing Enhancements craft magnetic language that draws readers and listeners into your message. The right word choices create impact. The perfect sentence rhythm maintains engagement. The strategic use of rhetorical devices captivates audiences. These elements combine to create prose that commands attention from the first word to the last.
Speaking Enhancements present those words with maximum impact. As Ira says, “great communicators create memorable experiences WITH YOU by blending together their voice, their body, and their words.” Vocal variety keeps audiences engaged. Strategic pauses create emphasis. Volume modulation signals importance. These techniques transform written words into memorable experiences.
Techniques, practiced until they are habit: inviting your audiences in, making them eager to learn more, and inspiring them to act.
New to Writing Enhancements? Start with the series overview: Writing Enhancements
How The Chief Storyteller® Uses Asyndeton with Clients
Writing Enhancements run through everything: coaching, consulting, training, workshops, and keynotes. Ira Koretsky, CEO, has been teaching them in his class for more than a decade. He teaches public speaking, data storytelling, storytelling, and presentations as an adjunct professor at The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. The student final is a five-minute TED-Style Talk.
And Ira tells everyone the same thing:
“You never have to remember the actual Greek word or how to pronounce it. What I want you to remember is why use it and how to use it.”
Every writing enhancement is written first and spoken aloud second. On the page, asyndeton sharpens your message. Aloud, in the meeting, on the stage, in the pitch, your voice and body language give your words oomph, force, impact. Small, deliberate choices, practiced until they become instinct. That is how great communicators are forged.
Sources
My 35+ years of coaching, speaking, training, and teaching; my 1,000+ page Writing Enhancements Resource Guide; Fellow Communications Professors; American Rhetoric; Encyclopedia Britannica; LitCharts; Literary Devices; Merriam-Webster Dictionary; Oxford English Dictionary; Silva Rhetoricae; ThoughtCo; and Wikipedia. Favorite books: A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices by Robert A. Harris; Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth; and A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms by Richard A. Lanham.
Every leadership story, workshop, and presentation we help build uses Writing Enhancements such as asyndeton. Yours can too. Contact us.
On-the-Spot Exercises: Suggested Answers
Suggested rewrites only. If yours reads better, use yours.
On-the-Spot Exercise 1
Before: Our on-boarding program shortens ramp time, and it reduces early attrition, and it gives every new manager a clear plan for the first ninety days.
After: On-boarding that works: { shorter ramp }, { lower attrition }, { confident managers }.
On-the-Spot Exercise 2
Before: I want to be clear about where the project stands. We are behind schedule, and we are over budget, and we are still confident we can ship this quarter.
After: I want to be clear about where the project stands. { Behind schedule }. { Over budget }. { Still shipping }.
On-the-Spot Exercise 3
Before: It is quick to set up, and it is simple to use every day, and it costs less each month than what you are paying now.
After: { Quick setup }. { Simple daily use }. { Lower monthly bill }.
Updated 2026
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