What: Cutting every word whose removal costs the text no meaning or rhythm.
Why: Padding weakens impact; condensed prose is stronger and truer and respects the reader's time.
How: Read each sentence and ask: does every word serve? Cut padding, repetition, and the extra adverb.
Common mistake: Verbosity mistaken for eloquence, and adjectives piled on a single noun.
Exercise: Take a paragraph of yours and cut a third of its words while keeping the meaning whole.