Copyright National Research Bureau Dec 2001As business and industry become more complicated, people with quality writing skills become indispensable. If you want to write clearly and forcefully, you must be able to put your ideas across and be understood. Since good writing enhances effort and speeds the sending out of ideas, it becomes a powerful communication tool, helping you and others to clarify goals and explore new concepts. Here is how you can improve the quality of your writing:
Perfect the basics of punctuation, grammar and usage. Errors in basics make you appear ignorant, even when the content of a report or letter is intelligent. To brush up, review a basic writing textbook. Then go over some of your post work to learn if you've been making errors.
Ask for the help of a peer or associate whose writing skills you respect. Suggest you exchange writing samples and drafts of reports. Pro vided you both are candid in pointing out faults and offering remedies, this type of tutoring often works wonders." Avoid asking anyone who merely says, "This looks good to me." He or she probably hasn't taken a close look at the material.
* List the kinds of documents you are required to write on your job. Then go through your files looking for sample documents in each category. Also assemble a file of the best writing you have received. Does someone's way of presenting an idea or reporting an event stand out? Consider modeling your writing after the best letters, memos, reports and proposals.
As good writing comes easier to you, you will appreciate how the procedure of organizing your thoughts on paper creates new ideas. You will also gain satisfaction with knowing that your readers will not have difficulty in understanding you.
Clarifying
Precise communication is invaluable to you and your company. Often, meaning gets lost in a tangle of wordiness. For clarity and greater precision, prune needless words from your documents, says Dallas writing consultant Jeff Harrington. Accomplished writers economize where they can and make every word count. Here are some suggestions:
* Use "'s" to indicate possession - rather than prepositional phrases beginning with "of the."
* Discard unnecessary preambles such as, "It is obvious that," "Needless to say" and "As you know."
* Omit flowery adjectives. Example: "The beautiful, bounteous, breathtaking buffet."
* Save on verbs - use "went" in place of "have gone."
* Reduce phrases. Use "now" in place of "at the present time."
* Avoid generalities. Be specific. Don't say office equipment when you mean laser printer.
* Prefer single-word verbs to phrases. Use "judge" for "pass judgment;" use "act" for "take action;" use "conclude" for "reach a conclusion."
* Avoid double-negatives. Use "possible" instead of "not .impossible," and "aware" instead of "not unaware."
Simplifying And Improving
If you believe your writing needs a tune-up, here are some guidelines from the Canadian literary agency's booklet, Plain Language: Pure and Simple:
1. Address your reader directly. Say, "You can apply before January 1,'? rather than "The customer can make application before January 1."
2. Accentuate the positive. Instead of, "If you don't pass the exam, you will not qualify," say, "You'll qualify if you pass the exam."
3. Use common words such as speed up and plan rather than fancy words like expedite and strategize.
4. Eliminate fat. Change "the way which" to "how," "in the event that" to "if," and "it would appear that" to "apparently."
5. Use the active instead of the passive voice. Say "The manager will interview the applicant" instead of "The applicant will be interviewed by the manager."
6. Prefer verbs over noun-forms. Say "The department requires that" instead of "The requirement of the department is that."
Mastering Memo Writing
Any organization can succumb to the overuse of memos. This practice, however, frequently resuits in stealing time and energy from the members, most of whom are already burdened with numerous responsibilities. You can save yourself hours initiating and responding to memos by sending them only upwards.
Communicate with your peers, subordinates and co-workers by word of mouth. Make an exception, however, by sending copies to anyone who might have a legitimate interest. This is so nobody gets the idea you're trying to do something behind his or her back.
While it's not likely that anything damaging could result from one of your memos, be careful whenever you're writing something critical. If you call attention to a problem that needs immediate attention, be cautious in your wording. For instance, don't write: "The ___ department is neglecting its responsibility." Instead, be specific, factual and non-judgmental: "We have a safety problem here." It's essential that memos report facts without placing blame.
Keep personal and confidential memos harmless by making your topic one you wouldn't mind coming back to you through the grapevine.
The feeling of shared confidence this creates can help build a useful personal relationship with a superior or influential co-worker.
While memos are important to most business operations as a way to transmit short communications, they are only as effective as the planning that goes into them. If your memos can't be understood, they are useless and a waste of time and money to both you and the recipients. Before you send off memos, read and judge them against the following points:
* Readers should know at a glance what a memo is about. They also should fairly quickly learn why you are sending the memo and/or what action you want them to take.
* The organization of the memo should be evident and easy to follow, thus enabling readers to skim. Use of lists, headings and white space make memos inviting.
* An appropriate tone and conversational mode adds Style. Formality depends on the intended readers.
* identify the topic in the first sentence, and develop the main point in the following sentences. Make the transitions between sentences and paragraphs clear. Vary the sentence length but seldom exceed 24 words.
* Be precise with word choices. Avoid jargon, inflated language, ambiguity and repetition.
* Assure punctuation and grammar are correct. Help readers move smoothly and quickly through the text without having to reread words and sentences for sense.
Writing Impressive Reports
Any fears about report writing can be minimized and even eliminated if you are willing to put some time and effort into your writing. You primarily want your report to be clear, knowledgeable and well-- written in the eyes of management.
Start by making sure your report is in the acceptable format prescribed by your company. Always know exactly who the report is being written for and why it is being written.
When you learn you are going to write a report, plan to start as soon as possible. Any delay can put pressure on you at a later date when the deadline nears. The job you face is outlining, organizing and evaluating your research or project to prepare it for presentation.
You are ready to begin writing after you have completely researched and organized your information and finished an outline. Try to write the words as you would say them, the less words and syllables, the better. Your readers will appreciate clearness, conciseness and briefness.
Allow your first draft to rest for a day or two. When you resume, it will be fresh in your mind. Expect to find several words and phrases that should be changed. You'll conclude that nobody is able to put out a perfect report - one that can't be improved - in a single writing. By rewriting, you'll be able to polish the words and sentences to the point where you'll have a smooth, professional document.
Before you rewrite, examine the report to see if you've said what you intended and haven't overlooked something. Is the report organized with its parts in logical order? Have you answered questions a reader might have? Is it clear? Judge its content by what the reader should want to know.
The value of a report is enhanced by promptness and neatness. Get your report typed and out on time; a late report has lost its value. After you've distributed it, look back on what you've done. You'll see writing reports doesn't have to be a problem.
Avoiding Faults
How do you feel about the quality of your business writing? Do your words and their presentation promote your department, build goodwill and persuade your readers? You can accomplish these objectives only if your writing is void of mistakes and easy to understand. The best way to do this is to make sure you're not guilty of the following writing faults:
* Using too many words. Although the average business letter today contains about 180 words, try to get a shorter message across by being concise. Do it by eliminating superfluous and redundant words and not repeating yourself.
* Being vague. You sacrifice specificity and impact if your reader can't understand what you would like to have him or her do or what action you will be taking. Be concrete. Figures can be very helpful in this respect and they leave no doubt in your reader's mind.
* Using jargon and technical words. Every business and industry has words and phrases uniquely its own; they may easily get into your written communications. If this happens, you may create problems of understanding for some of your readers, especially those outside the profession who are unfamiliar with the expressions.
* Overusing big words. You can better assure clarity and understanding by using short, simple words. They convey your message better; they also enable you to keep your message brief and crisp. You'll never be accused of trying to impress rather than just inform.
* Using trite expressions. Focus on freshness and originality if you want your words to get attention and be remembered. Trite expressions suggest you're behind the times and taking the easy way out.
* Omitting abbreviation explanations. Many readers are irritated when they see acronyms and abbreviations they can't figure out. If you must use them to save space or repetition, spell them out when you first use them.
* Talking down to readers. Avoid condescending statements-they often give the impression you feel superior to others. Worse, perhaps, such words may suggest readers are incapable of coming to a logical conclusion by themselves.
* Expressing yourself negatively. Astute and persuasive supervisors write positively to avoid any possibility of discouraging or turning off readers. Even letters that report bad news can say that matters could be worse; the bright side of a dark picture may be mentioned. The best way to sell an idea is to be optimistic. Do this by stressing its benefits and advantages. Positive writing does this.
* Being too self-centered. Many communications contain too many "I's" and "We's," overlooking the fact "You's" are always more impressive. Your letters and memos will be better received if you get your readers involved through more references to them than to yourself or your company.
* Overlooking details. Omission of the date, use of a wrong title or failure to sign a letter label a writer as careless and irresponsible. Never permit a letter to go out with misspelled words or typographical errors. This degrades the writer and hurts a company's image.
| [Author Affiliation] |
W.H. Weiss is a consultant in industrial management. He has a B.S. in chemical engineering and an M.B.A. from  Kent State University. He has written books and free-lance articles on human relations, management and engineering. |
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