Business Writing: Five Tips for Developing Your Wrting Skills

A common scenario in the Business World is one in which an employee has been promoted or
assigned to a position that requires the writing of letters, memos, and reports without the employee having little or no any previous writing experience.

In such cases, the employee’s first reaction may be to look for a course or seminar. While education is never a bad idea, an outside writing course will not address the particulars of writing for a particular organization.

Granted, writing courses or programs will cover the basics, and the good ones will provide attendees with practical writing exercises on business-oriented topics. But for specific and relevant help one has to become familiar with how communications are normally written within their own company.

That said, consider the following tips as a common-sense strategy for developing your Business Writing Skills:

1. New writers need to first audit samples of their company’s communications in order to get a feel for the style, tone, and language that is customary and expected. After all, the last thing a new writer wants to do is write in such a way that leaves readers and Management scratching their heads.

2. Beyond just mimicking others, new writers should view samples of company communications with a critical eye. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it makes little sense to imitate and perpetuate poor writing.

Critical review in this sense means looking at sample communications from the vantage point of readers. Since you too are a reader of these communications, consider the overall writing quality. Is it clear and focused, or is it so filled with vague terms, jargon and buzzwords that only a select few readers can comprehend it?

3. If you answered yes to these questions, then your next developmental lesson is to learn to write in a manner that appeals to a broad readership.

Obviously, including some jargon and inside language will be unavoidable, but too many in one communication has an adverse effect on readability. The point is to resist indiscriminately filling communications with these writing shortcuts. It’s indicative of poor writing, and paints the writer as
someone who’s trying to impress rather than communicate.

4. Another developmental tip is to openly seek the advice and input of trusted colleagues or your immediate supervisor. There’s nothing wrong with having others proof and reality-test your writing. Sure, you can use the features of Word Processing for proofing and editing, but you need a flesh and blood reader to evaluate the sense and readability of a communication.

5. Be mindful that experience is a great teacher, so the more you write and work on developing your
writing skills, the more comfortable and confident you will become with your writing abilities. In like manner, the acumen needed to write in a business-like manner will follow suit.

In the end, always aim to satisfy the wants and needs of readers first. You may not fancy yourself as an accomplished wordsmith, but you should not use this as an excuse to put out poorly written and unprofessional communications. Thus, take the time to develop your writing skills. Your continued career progression may very well depend on it.


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *