Business Writing (part 1)
I’ve decided to write a small 3 part series on business writing. As entrepreneurs we are likely to be writing memos, letters, thank you notes, emails, reports, and proposals, so I’d figure I’d touch on a few key topics to help you produce effective content and grab you reader’s attention.
Here we go:
Make sure that whatever you’re writing is kept as simple as possible. This is definitely easier said than done as most writers get caught up in using complex wording and unnecessary language that has their readers saying, huh…what…?
Instead of these phrases: rather unique ,around 5 months from now, the whole wide world, and in the near future.
Try using: unique, in 5 months, the world, and in the future.
Get the picture, here? Simply put, just try to eliminate using unnecessary words. Why make your readers read content that really isn’t needed? Not cool. That’ll only serve to frustrate your readers and you don’t want to do that, right?
Always make sure to ask yourself “Would my readers understand this? What exactly do my readers want to know?” These questions will help you determine what language to use in your content.
For instance you’ll find that I use a lot of words like: “cool, ya, awesome…” because I feel comfortable speaking in that sort-of fun and relaxing tone; I feel that it helps get my points across in a down-to-Earth manner, which leads me to my next point.
Keep things informal. Don’t feel that you need to come off as sounding professional or authoritative all of the time. People usually don’t respond well when they feel that they are being talked down to or being yelled at.
Talk in a conversational tone as if you were speaking directly to your readers. It’s not like you’re giving a state of the union speech, so don’t sound like you are.
Think about the professors that you like most at school. They usually tend to be the ones who are relaxed, speak in a conversational manner, make jokes, and like to have a good time. On the other hand, the professor who’s always uptight, strict, and serious usually tend to be hated. So try to be the cool professor when you write, not professor tightass.
If you’re having fun when you’re writing then you’ll usually produce good content. I remember in college we were given a report to write about what we learned from the class that year. We had to touch upon specific points and explain how each lesson made an impact on our writing (English class).
Most of my fellow students felt the need to try to impress the professor by talking about detailed aspects of grammar, tone, and structure – trying to sound like experts as much as they could. When it came time to reading their essays out loud, the professor saw right through their bullshit and it showed in the grades they got.
On the other hand, I wanted to have fun with my report. I decided to write in a very down-to-Earth conversational tone that would allow me to better connect with the other students in the class. I dropped in a few jokes here and there, kept very simple points, and spoke about only what I truly learned – cutting out all of the bullshit.
I was successfully able to engage the class with the points that I made because I was speaking to them, not at them. I’m sure that you can figure out the grade I got.
Its one thing to keep things simple, but you must also remember to be direct in your writing. If you’re like me, you want people to tell you exactly what they mean. But why is it that we don’t always deliver directness ourselves?
Try to write in a focused manner by getting to your points without huge explanations and unneeded fluff. If you’re writing to an audience, then it’s fine to do a bunch of story- telling and explaining, but if you’re writing directly to one person, then be direct in your writing.
Remember, you don’t want to waste your readers’ time. You want them to understand your points as quickly as possible without having to go through a journey to get from point A to point B.
Get personal. This is a pretty important key to remember because it deals with building a relationship with your reader.
Ever go to a car dealership and the first thing that you were asked was “what’s your name?” And then having the dealer constantly use your name in what seemed like every sentence? Well, what he was doing is trying to build a relationship with you by keeping things personal. People like to hear their names, it makes them feel comfortable and relaxed.
Use words such as: “we, you, and yours” in your writing and it’ll help connect you more with your readers, also making your content easier to read.
Write with passion and allow your personality to shine through. When you keep it real with yourself in your writing, people become interested in what you have to say and that’s exactly where the relationship begins.
Stay tuned for part 2….
