WRITING BETTER FOR BUSINESS

If being understood by your colleagues and clients is important to you at all, then it’s a good idea to get as good at business writing as you can. This holds whether you are a CEO, business owner, manager or an employee: if you communicate with others, then you need to know how to write effectively for business.  

You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.  –Lee Iacocca

Bad writing can have a wide-ranging, negative effect on your business. It can mean an incoherent business plan, a failure to attract investors or an inability to communicate effectively with employees and customers. For better or worse, your writing style is also a reflection of you personally, and readers will naturally make a value judgement: “If you are a native English speaker and never learned the difference between it’s and its, especially given access to Google, (one) might wonder what else you’ve failed to learn that might be useful” - Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover, in a recent Harvard Business Review blog.

5 STEPS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING

#1: BE A RUTHLESS EDITOR

Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words. -- Mark Twain

If only it was that easy, right? Except it kind of is.  

The first pass of anything - an email, a paper or report, a manuscript – is almost always wordier than it needs to be. And editing, or “crossing out all those ‘wrong’ words,” almost always makes your writing better.  Avoiding phrases like “The purpose of this report I am submitting today is…” is a good place to start. You have something to say: get to the point.

We talk about “efficiencies” in business all the time. Think as lean in your writing as you do in your budgets, management style and meetings.

The truism holds here: Less really is more.

 #2: JUST DON’T DO IT

For sure you get better at business writing by paying attention to grammar, spelling and punctuation, but the simplest advice? Don’t do it. Business writing, that is.

“I’m sorry: what?”

Oh, I know. At first blush it’s counterintuitive, but Seth Godin, in a post from 2015 makes as succinct (and logical) a case as it gets:

Have you ever met someone in industry who talks like he writes? You visit a store and the person says, ‘effective January 1, 2015, we have ceased operations at this location. For further information, correspondence should be addressed to our headquarters.’ Of course not. That would be awkward.

Write like you talk instead. ‘We closed this store last year. Sorry for the hassle, please call us if you have any questions.’

Shoot for relaxed authenticity. Self deprecating humour is always a winner. The goal is writing that sounds like you (unless you’re someone who tends to ramble aimlessly on, in which case, see #1).  If this means talking out your message to get the right rhythm and feel, then great! There are a lot of great voice-recognition dictation programs to choose from that can help in this, making life infinitely easier if this is your thing.

Writing is talking, except you get the chance to edit what you just said ― Bangambiki Habyarimana, The Great Pearl of Wisdom

#3:   SAVE ITALICS, FONTS, EXCLAMATION POINTS AND THE LIKE FOR YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE

Whether it’s an email, internal document or sales pitch, your writing wants to be inviting and easy to read (see #2). That said, it also always wants to be and look professional. Multiple fonts, italics and use of boldface are fine for chatting with friends and family but in a work environment, they’re too… much.

Italics, boldface and a variety of fonts divert attention from your message because they are distracting and generally inappropriate within the context.

Likewise, too many exclamation points (!) and the Over-Use of Capitalization are conspicuous and in so doing Distracts from, rather than Enhances your message!!

Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke.  - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

As a general rule, unless you’re trying to evoke the enthusiasm of a 12 year old girl in your professional writing, it’s best to avoid exclamation marks altogether.

A caveat: You don’t need to, nor should you, exclude personality and enthusiasm from your writing. To the contrary, personality and enthusiasm are encouraged. That said, I advocate for judicious use of all of the foregoing, and if you ever question whether an italicized word, boldface or exclamation point should be included, then the old saw applies: “When in doubt, leave it out.”

#4 THINK STORY AND AUDIENCE

A story has an inherent and logical structure that reader’s everywhere immediately grasp: Beginning, middle, end. Use this natural understanding to your advantage. Even a simple email or memo should have a clear progression or “story structure.”  It’s confusing when the points you’re making are out of order, for example, so checking for logical flow is imperative to ensuring you’re understood.

Words are how we think; stories are how we link --Christina Baldwin

Related to this, always keep in mind the audience you are writing for. A note to a girlfriend will be very different in tone (if not content) than a note to a senior manager, for example. Peers, stakeholders and top execs each require a different approach and it is wise to check that you are hitting the right notes with each.

Finally, when presenting your “story” blocks, where it makes sense and you’re able to,  include visual, entertaining, audience-appropriate examples to back up your statements. This not only validates the argument you are making, but keeps readers engaged with real life examples and/or statistics. A   "story" about a sales call gone wrong can not only support your training module on what-not-to-do, but will make the lesson memorable. People will always retain a story more easily than a series of facts, statistics or instructions.

#5 GIVE IT A REST

I’m quoting someone here - I’m not sure who: Good writing, is rewriting.

Always, always leave time for revisions. Dash off a first draft – it can be garbage (and often is) but don’t worry about it. It is just something to react to when you go back to it. The point is to get your thoughts out, read them over thoroughly, make whatever changes you need in the moment then set your writing aside for 24 hours, if you can.  When you read it again the next day it’s with fresh eyes (and mind) and you’ve given yourself time to make it better. Edit fearlessly, check for tone and “flow” and be sure to review for simple things like spelling, grammar and run-on sentences (hint: lots of commas are generally a sign of trouble. One major point per paragraph is a good guideline).

Following these five simple rules can help keep your business writing interesting, concise and most importantly, ensure you’re understood by those around you.

Was this helpful? Please share your thoughts and comments below. I'd love to hear from you!

NB. Content adapted from Don’t Let Poor Business Writing Kill Your Career, by Dennis McCafferty at Baseline Magazine.