Workforce Management just ran an article titled “Why Business Can’t Write—and What to Do about It.” Here’s the teaser copy.

“In today’s business environment, writing savvy helps to drive deals and cement relationships, perhaps more than ever before, corporate training and human resource leaders say. But U.S. employees appear to be falling short when it comes to writing skills.”

There’s good news and bad news in this article for you. The bad news is that if you don’t write well, you’re lowering your own odds for success. The good news is that you can learn to write well. Here are some tips.

Master standard business English. Write to your friends however you choose, but make your business documents businesslike. In addition to improving your image, you’ll also make it easier for more people (especially those for whom English is a second language) to understand you.

Learn to write simple prose. Simple words, simple sentences, and short paragraphs are usually best. Stop and think before you use abbreviations or acronyms to make sure everyone who reads your writing will understand them.

Check everything you write with software that gives you a readability score. There’s one built in to Microsoft Word. Make the effort to improve your score.

Read your writing out loud. Your mouth and ear will catch things that your eye will miss.

Make re-writing a habit. The best writers re-write. If you can, put some time between one draft and the next.

Learn to write captivating subject lines. In the world of email, subject lines that telegraph the content of your message will get it read.

Good, clear writing is a key success skill. Invest time and energy in improving your writing and then reap the benefits.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 9:02 am and is filed under Tools and Strategies for Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.