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5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Business Writing
Writers Write creates and shares business writing resources. In this post, we share five simple ways to improve your business writing.
5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Business Writing
In business, you write to communicate. If you want to improve your business writing, ask yourself these five questions:
1. What are you trying to say?
You should be able to answer this in one sentence.
- Before you begin, ask yourself: What do I want to say?
- While you are writing ask: What am I saying?
- When you’re finished, ask: Did I say what I wanted to say?
This may seem simplistic, but until you get this right you are wasting your time.
2. Will your readers care?
You have to engage your readers. If you do not make them care, they will stop reading. You make people care by asking a question that needs to be answered, making a controversial statement, or telling a compelling story.
3. Why are you trying to sound like a lawyer?
Use short words to convey complicated ideas. Use simple sentence constructions. Write in the active voice. [Read From Passive Voice To Active Voice] If you follow these rules, you will not be misunderstood.
4. Why are you cluttering up your writing?
As a rule, include adjectives and adverbs that you cannot omit. For example, you need to include numbers and colours if you need to be specific. Too many modifiers bore readers. Stick to nouns and verbs.
- Don’t write: ‘Some high-level business executives arrived in a light-coloured, fancy car.’
- Do write: ‘Three board directors arrived in a white BMW.’
5. Have you thought about your reader?
If you are, you will keep it simple. We are overwhelmed with information. Avoid being pretentious. Imagine reading what you’ve written. Be honest. Is it interesting, useful, or educational? Read your writing aloud. Does it make sense to you? If not, rewrite.
If you want to learn how to write for business, join us for The Plain Language Programme
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Posted on: 21st February 2017
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