The only business writing book you’ll ever need - Laura Brown, Rich Karlgaard 2019

Writing skills
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This section offers guidance on writing technique, style, grammar, and punctuation. It’s not intended to be a comprehensive guide to any of these topics. Rather, it targets the most common errors in business writing and offers help with those areas where business writers struggle the most.

The English language is always changing, and the rules change along with it. Not everyone is aware of the rules, and not everyone cares. From a practical point of view, though, you should make an effort to use correct English when you write at work, for two reasons.

The first is that there are sticklers in every organization, with their eyes peeled for errors. Sometimes these people are powerful, and often they take pride in their knowledge of English. They can be a tremendous asset to an organization, but they can also be a pain in the neck and make you feel insecure about your writing. (It’s worth pointing out that sometimes these people are wrong, and will “correct” you when you’ve done nothing wrong.) However you feel about these sticklers, you have to deal with them if you work with them, and having a solid understanding of grammar, usage, and style can boost your confidence and improve your writing.

The second, and better, reason that you should use correct English is that you really ought to care. If communication is part of your job, you should take pride in doing it well. In the end, it’s not hard to learn the difference between the active and passive voices. It’s not difficult to master the proper use of commas and semicolons. When you make the effort to get these kinds of things right in your writing, you’ll see some interesting results in yourself. You’ll feel more confident, you’ll project that confidence, and you’ll have greater impact through your writing.

Writing skills

Overcoming Writer’s Block

Across various surveys I’ve conducted with business writers over the past twenty-five years, about 70 percent of them have reported experiencing writer’s block. Writer’s block hits most people at one time or another. When writer’s block interferes with your productivity and leaves you staring at a blank screen, try these techniques to help yourself get started.

UNDERSTAND THE REASON

There’s almost always an identifiable reason behind your writer’s block. Often the most effective way to get yourself unblocked is to spend some time exploring why you feel you can’t write. A very common reason is not being sure exactly what you want to say; maybe you need to spend some time brainstorming before you start to write. Another common reason is lack of confidence: you’re worried that the finished product won’t be any good. In this case, it might help to remember that your first draft is just that—a first draft—and no one but you will see it. Think hard about why you’re feeling blocked, and you might just hit on a practical solution to the problem.

CLOSE THE DOOR

If you’re feeling distracted by noise or activity nearby, try to arrange for a place and a time in which you won’t be disturbed. Close your door, shut down your e-mail program and your web browser, turn off your phone, and tell your colleagues or your family you won’t be available for a while. Having some private space and time can help you focus on your writing.

REWARD YOURSELF

Instead of running out for coffee before you write, try making that coffee (or a piece of chocolate or a trip to the gym—whatever you like) your reward for putting in some quality time on your writing project. It’s easier to knuckle down when you know that you’ll earn something you like for doing the work.

WRITE IT FOR YOUR GRANDMOTHER

Maybe worries about your reader’s potential reaction are making it hard for you to get started. If that’s the case, you can overcome your block by imagining a different reader—someone who’s sympathetic to you, interested in what you have to say, and unlikely to judge you harshly: your grandmother. Get your writing process started by imagining that you are writing for your grandmother—or anyone else who’s unconditionally kind. You’ll make it clear and straightforward, and you won’t dump a lot of jargon in. Once you have a draft, you can revise it to meet the more exacting standards of your actual reader.

WRITE IT BADLY

Are you convinced that your writing isn’t going to be any good? Then instead of worrying about it, go ahead and write the whole thing as badly as you can. Write it ungrammatically; use inappropriate vocabulary. No one but you is going to see this draft, so go wild. Once you’ve got a bad draft, you can revise it into a good one, and you will have had some fun in the process.

Note: if you’re trying this trick in an e-mail window, fill in the “to” field with your own e-mail address, not the intended recipient’s, while you’re working on your draft. It’s easy to send off a draft by accident. To be extra safe, write your bad draft in a separate text file, then copy and paste into an e-mail when you’re done revising.

WORK SOMEPLACE ELSE

If you get discouraged sitting in front of the computer, try writing someplace else. Grab pen and paper or your laptop and find an empty conference room. Try sitting in a coffee shop. Try jotting notes while you’re on the bus or the train. Sometimes changing your environment will change your approach just enough to help you get your writing task under way.

Getting Your Writing Done Faster

“I have little time to plan my writing, and it generally takes a little while to perfect it. Time, as they say, is of essence.”

—SURVEY RESPONDENT

Most of my clients tell me they need to get through their writing tasks faster. We’re all pressed for time at work, and writing has become a critically important part of many jobs.

Here are a few tricks to help you write faster:

Use a template. If you do certain writing tasks frequently, take a few minutes to create a template that you can use over and over again. The point here is to avoid reinventing the wheel every time you write. Your template doesn’t have to be fancy—even a quick outline can help you focus and get started. Refine the template as you continue to use it, to make it as efficient as possible.

Make a time for writing. Mark out a time in your day just for writing—for answering e-mails or working on any other writing tasks you’re facing. It doesn’t have to be the same time every day; it just has to be 100 percent dedicated to writing: no phone calls, no other interruptions. You can get a lot of writing done in twenty minutes if there are no other demands on that time.

Think before you write. It may seem counterintuitive, but taking some time to plan out what you’re going to write can save you a tremendous amount of time in the long run. When you start writing before you know what you want to say, you often end up spending more time later reworking and rewriting your text.

Finally, get into the habit of proofreading what you’ve written. Even the most experienced writers make more mistakes when they’re in a hurry. It may take a few seconds to proofread your work, but catching errors before they reach others can save you a lot of time in cleaning up the confusion that can result from typos or muddy expression.

The Secret to Overcoming Writer’s Block

Anita Campbell

When you’re stuck, start talking. Literally. It’s the fastest way I’ve found to get over writer’s block.

I write a lot, each and every day. I used to struggle, staring at a blank screen. Sometimes getting that first paragraph down was the hardest part. Once I got going, it wasn’t so bad to finish. But jeez Louise, pushing out that first paragraph was misery. As you can imagine, for someone like me—the publisher of an online journal—who communicates for a living, writer’s block could seriously hamper my career.

How did I overcome it? My secret is simple: use voice dictation technology.

The past five years have seen huge advances in voice recognition and voice activation technologies. Voice recognition has become “intelligent,” with predictive text corrections that amaze me. And the good news is that there are free applications out there, so you can experiment to see if voice dictation works for you, without fronting any money to buy software.

For example, did you know that Windows 10 has built-in voice dictation capabilities? I’ve used it to dictate into a WordPress site on a Windows PC. Microsoft also has an application called “Dictate,” which uses its more advanced Cortana technology to let you dictate into Microsoft Office documents. Google Docs now features built-in voice typing, too (under the “Tools” menu). And various Apple devices enable dictation. However, some people who decide they like to dictate will opt for an advanced application, such as Dragon software.

Whatever your choice, here’s a tip: don’t try to edit immediately or clean up your first sentences as soon as you start dictating. At first, just get the words flowing. The goal is to get over the psychological hump. Once you have a few paragraphs dictated, then go back and edit your ramblings. At that point, you might even decide to switch to typing in order to finish the piece. By the time you get deep into whatever you’re writing, the dictation has served its purpose. It got you over your initial writer’s block. And that’s what counts!

Anita Campbell is the founder, CEO, and publisher of Small Business Trends (smallbiztrends.com) and its associated online publications, communities, and newsletters. She writes one thousand words a day.

Editing Your Own Writing

Editing your own writing can be challenging. It’s ideal to have someone else edit your work for you, but that’s not always possible. These tips for self-editing will help you ensure that your writing is as accurate, complete, and concise as possible before you share it with the world.

TAKE A BREAK FROM YOUR WRITING

Taking a break from your writing can help you gain more perspective on it. If possible, leave your first draft overnight and return to it with a fresh eye the next day. If that’s not possible, stand up from your desk for at least a few minutes and get your mind on something else before returning to your writing to edit. You’ll find that the distance helps you see your draft more objectively.

PRETEND YOU’RE THE INTENDED READER

How will your reader react to your writing? One way to help answer this critical question is to imagine that you are the intended reader of the document as you review it. Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. What’s your response to the document? Is the purpose clear? If there’s an action requested, do you know what it is and why? Is there any information missing? Is the tone appropriate? Imagining yourself as the recipient of the document can help you find areas for improvement.

READ IT OUT LOUD

Reading your draft out loud is an excellent way to catch problems in your writing, including missing words, awkward sentences, and incomplete thoughts. Find a quiet place, and listen as you read. Your final draft will be better for it.

WEED OUT UNNECESSARY WORDS

First drafts are often full of wordy constructions that can be trimmed. Go through your draft sentence by sentence and look for verbiage that isn’t doing any work. Check out the examples below and see if you can make similar revisions in your own draft.

Original: Jackson is of the opinion that the restoration of the bases can be accomplished within six months or so.

Revised: Jackson believes that the bases can be restored in about six months.

Original: In most circumstances, the practice of the committee is to weigh a variety of different options before arriving at a final decision.

Revised: The committee usually weighs different options before making a decision.

PROOFREAD CAREFULLY

There’s no substitute for careful proofreading. Don’t trust spelling- or grammar-checking software to catch errors. These programs typically cannot find errors like the mistyping of “coed” for “code.” And they have no way to “know” the correct spelling of many personal or product names. Ultimately, it’s up to you to proofread your draft word by word to avoid any embarrassing mistakes.

FIX SLOW BEGINNINGS

A strong and specific beginning can engage readers and motivate them to keep reading. Use these tricks to help improve sentences that begin slowly, so that you’ll get your readers involved right away.

Look out for the “blah blah blah is that” sentence opening. Some writers feel they need to add some warm-up syllables to a sentence before they get to the point. Consider these common beginnings:

The point is that . . .

It is important to remember that . . .

It is essential that . . .

The purpose of X is to Y . . .

Most of the time you can do without these and just get straight to the point.

Look out for empty words. Phrases like the ones below creep into our writing without our realizing it, but they don’t mean anything:

In many circumstances . . . (How many? Are there really many, or is this just noise? If you mean “often,” say “often.”)

In many ways . . . (How many ways? Look out for this one—it’s usually just filler. If you can’t answer the question “How many ways, and which ones?,” you’re probably just vamping.)

In order to . . . (This almost always means just “to.”)

Remember that readers may be skimming rather than reading, so it’s important to place the key concepts where readers can see them easily. Sentences that begin with long introductory phrases are not incorrect or even poorly styled, but they do tend to push the important stuff toward the end.

Writing for Mobile Devices

Nearly everything you write might be read on a phone or a tablet. Website content marketers and copywriters have led the way in setting best practices for writing for mobile platforms. But now everything from e-mails to proposals is likely to be opened and read on a tablet or a phone. Writing with mobile devices in mind shouldn’t be an afterthought; it should be a routine practice. The following tips can help ensure that what you write is easy to scan on a mobile screen.

Think visually. This one almost goes without saying, and it’s the only thing you need to remember: envision how your content is going to look on a (much) smaller screen. Consider that a single sentence can fill the entire screen of a phone. Long paragraphs can mean scrolling and scrolling. The ability to envision what your writing is going to look like on a phone screen or on a tablet is the cornerstone of writing for mobile.

Front-load your content. The more a reader has to scroll, the more likely that reader is to give up and go do something else. Make sure you get your most important content right up front. Even if you have to develop that content more fully later in the document, make sure you get your main ideas out there in front.

Be concise. Writing concisely is a virtue no matter what delivery method you use, but on mobile screens it’s a live-or-die matter. Long sentences, complex constructions, and extra words will make your reader’s experience unnecessarily laborious.

Format for ease of scanning. When you’re writing for ordinary screens or for printing, you want to use ­formatting—paragraph breaks, headings, bullet points, bolding—to make your content easier to scan. That’s even more important for mobile platforms. Imagine that you’ve written a proposal that your potential customer is viewing on his phone. If he starts reading a prose paragraph, he’s got no idea how long it’s going to be, because he can’t see the whole thing. He might find himself scrolling and scrolling through a long paragraph and beginning to feel lost. You can help him with these formatting practices:

Use headlines to orient the reader.

Use bulleted or numbered lists where appropriate.

Write short sentences and short paragraphs.

Buddhists believe that there is only the present. The past is gone, and the future is uncertain; all we have for sure is now. You should adopt the same kind of thinking when you’re writing for mobile platforms. On a mobile device, a reader can’t see a full document, and she can’t see the larger context—all she’s got is the screen in front of her. It’s your job as a writer to ensure that your content is communicated effectively on the mobile platform.