Each "Communication Corner" essay is self-contained; however, they build on each other. For best results, before reading this essay and doing the exercise, go to the first essay "How an Ugly Duckling Became a Swan," then read each succeeding essay.

The concept of "hot spots" has previously been mentioned in Communication Corner essays (e.g., "How to Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say" and "Why Putting Yourself in the Mind of Your Reader is Easier---and More Challenging---Than You Might Have Imagined"). Now it is time to look at the concept in detail. Why? Because understanding and applying hot spots (which is not all that difficult) has often proved to be the quickest and easiest way of markedly improving one's writing. Judge for yourself.