1. Essentials of Business Writing
Business writing is as wide a field as business itself. It includes almost all of the writing for technology we will be examining later, as well as web content, sales letters, reports, memos, press releases, verbal presentations and the minutes of meetings. Here we will consider the basic principles of writing for business, with many practical examples of how these are applied in the real world.
Essentials
Four essential points need to be considered when beginning any business writing project:
1. Getting your ideas organized.
2. Starting the actual writing.
3. Completing the document.
4. Refining the logic of the text.
These are important staging posts because business writing is not like a novel that can be mulled over and enjoyed for layer upon layer of meaning. It has to be understood at the first pass. It has to convey both interest and urgency immediately. It has to be relevant to the reader’s objectives to the extent that they will act on it straight away, not file it for future reference.
If your punctuation is sloppy, the words may convey an alternative meaning to the one you intend. You may use a wrong word or construction. If simple grammatical errors, or duplication, make the document seem slovenly and second rate, you will be judged accordingly, and your communication will have failed.
These aspects need to be considered at the outset:
* The four touchstones of good business writing:
1. Achievement of purpose.
2. Clarity.
3. Engages attention.
4. Pleasant to read.
* The critical path between writing and time.
* The four steps that muster your writing power:
1. Planning
2. Writing
3. Polishing
4. Formatting
The Four Touchstones
Business writing is effective if it –
Achieves its purpose — Focus on the key objective in hand. Much will distract you, if you let it: personal opinions, antagonisms, office history and politics, jockeying for position, trying to impress someone, &c. All this digresses the argument and makes you look weak and easily influenced. Think of your writing as standing alone, away from your tastes and personality. Be ruthless on this point and you will soon win admirers. They will see you as stormproof from the vicissitudes of business life; able to withstand the pull of personal ambition, while possessing a steely concentration on the job in hand. Definitely promotion material.
Achieves clarity — Each part of a document has a part to play in the whole and needs its own level of clarity:
* The overall document should carry the message like an arrow hitting a target.
* Each section should contain a segment of the argument, locally arrayed in terms of all the others.
* The paragraphs should follow on from each other in a recognizable sequence.
* Sentences should not be superfluous, nor repetitious. They should speak plainly and directly.
Engages attention — Don’t become verbose and wandering so that you lose your audience. Keep it on track.
Is pleasant to read — This is really about style. Matthew Arnold wrote: “Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret of style.” Write with sinewy English that drives its point home and don’t lose face by making silly errors. Check your work before sending it, and, finally, remember that your reader cares less about it than you do!
The next lesson in Business Writing is, 2. Business Writing and Time.
