Seven tips for effective business writing

Today’s business world is almost entirely information-driven. Whether you run a small business or occupy a small corner of the org-chart at a massive multinational corporation, the chances are that the bulk of your job consists of communicating with others, most often in writing. Then, of course, there’s email and the formal business letter. Still, most business people are also called on to write presentations, memos, proposals, business requirements, training materials, promotional copy, grant proposals, and a wide range of other documents.

Spending some time to improve your writing can result in a marked improvement in your hireability and promotional prospects.

There’s no substitute for practice, but here are a few pointers to put you on the right track.

1. PUT YOUR MAIN POINTS FIRST

In business, your colleagues and clients value their time as much as you do yours. Therefore, you will save them and yourself time by stating your key points right at the beginning, rather than burying them somewhere later on for readers to dig out.

If your points are too complicated and complex to explain fully initially, all is not lost. You can still summarize them at the outset then expand on them later. However, your initial summary will have primed readers about what to expect and catch their attention.

If necessary, you can repeat your main points at the end.

2. USE HEADINGS TO GUIDE READERS THROUGH YOUR THOUGHTS

One of your essential tasks is to make sure your messages are easy to understand. It is necessary to spell out for them what each different section is about. Why should they have to work that out for themselves?

Short, informative headings not only make information more digestible they also keep readers interested. And it is not just lengthy reports and the like that benefit from headers. Even a single-page document can have several headings.

Headings that pose questions can be very useful. For example, contrast the bland Current Market Situation with New entrant set to shake up the market?

3. USE EVERYDAY WORDS

In the past, people in business communicated in a formal style, but nowadays, that isn’t always necessary. Traditional style can distance people who receive your business emails and memos. Instead, choose the short, everyday words that everyone says.

4. AVOID UNNECESSARY JARGON AND SPECIALIST TERMS

Your industry or business probably uses specialist or technical terms. But it would help if you did not assume that people outside your professional field understand them. Avoid them in writing for anyone not in your area. Those people will think such terms are ‘jargon’ and, like another language, they struggle to translate back into English. Only use technical terms if you are sure that the audience you are writing for knows them as well as you do.

5. USE ACTIVE VERBS RATHER THAN PASSIVE ONES

We’ve decided to reduce working hours. [active]

The decision has been taken to reduce working hours. [passive]

The first example above is active: an identifiable person (we) have done something and is the grammatical subject of the verb taken.

The second one is passive: the grammatical subject (decision) has not done anything. Instead, something has been done to it.

• Verbs expressed in the passive make your writing sound impersonal when it should be personal.
• They highlight the action rather than the person performing it.
• But very often, knowing who is acting is a crucial part of the message.

6. AVOID BEING ABSTRACT

Readers find con

create statements more helpful and exciting than abstract or theoretical ones. You should support any general information with examples or with facts and figures.

For instance, the statement ‘Competition in our sector has increased significantly’ needs to be amplified because it is mainly vague and abstract. Instead, quantify the increase, or give examples of what competitors are doing.

7. CHECK YOUR WORK WITH A FINE-TOOTH COMB

Spelling and grammar mistakes create a feeble impression of you. To avoid them, read through what you have written very thoroughly, preferably more than once. Printing it out rather than reading it on-screen makes mistakes easier to spot.

Some text editing programs have a facility for checking grammar and spelling, and using those can be helpful. However, you need to be aware that spellcheckers have limitations and will not pick up every single mistake. For instance, they might not spot that you have left out a word or words.