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Why confident writing is good for business
We live in a world of instant access to information but most business managers feel swamped by a deluge of material that they never have time to read. Poorly written material slows us down and leads to frustration and wasted time as readers try to fathom out ‘what’s the point?’ There’s a business price to pay for this of course - Personnel Today report an estimated loss to the UK economy of £10bn a year, all from poor business writing.
The quality of your written material counts - for your business and your reputation in business. Thinking about your reader’s needs is the key here. Time is the most important thing to senior managers (and let’s face it just about anyone working in an office nowadays) so write your material with that in mind. Here are some tips you can try:
Make three points. This is a good way to structure your material, stops you waffling on too much, and is easier for your reader to remember.
Use clear, plain language. That includes short sentence, plain English rather than jargon, full words rather than shorthand or ‘SMS’ speak.
Less is more. It might take you longer to condense your material but it’s an investment worth making - it’ll force you to work out the crux of the matter and it will save your readers time. This can be only good for your reputation amongst your colleagues and managers in the long term.
Business Writing With Confidence: 6 week e-course with coaching and writing tips to help you write with authenticity, brevity, clarity and confidence at work. Find out more here
Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count
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