The corporate sector is very much reliant on communication even if it’s in writing. If you don’t communicate with your staff, investors, customers or suppliers, you could lose business.
Let me give you an instance of the importance of effective communication. Being a subscriber of Cox Internet, a while back the company revised the pricing of their Cox Internet packages but somehow failed to inform me. I didn’t receive an email notification or call from them. As anticipated, I was shocked to see a hike in my monthly bill. After a long and stressful back and forth communication, they accepted it was their fault. They compensated for this miscommunication by letting me revert to my old package price.
So yes, communication is the key. To help you out in communicating well, follow these tips and tools for effective business writing:
1: Be Clear
Whether you are writing to a colleague, boss or business associate, your writing must always be clear. For instance, don’t use abbreviations where it’s not necessary.
Be as short as you can when explaining something. Before you send something, read it and cut any unnecessary sentences. The more readable it is, the faster the response you will get.
These are some pointers to help you keep everything concise and clear:
- Always include a clear subject line (if it’s an email) or a headline (if it’s an article)
- Break the message up by using descriptive subheads
- Whenever necessary use lists or bullets
- Place the most important information at the top
2: Know Your Audience
It’s very crucial that you know the people you are speaking to. You can talk to all your clients and customers in the same tone. For some, you have to be strictly formal and for others, it is ok to be casual. Before you start writing, make yourself familiar with your audience.
3: Use Simple Language
When you are writing, use plain English. You might feel the urge to impress the reader by using nice vocabulary. Let me break this for you – even the businessmen in fancy suits might not understand the meaning of those big words.
Don’t use foreign phrases or technical terms that your reader might not be familiar with. You can better express yourself in simple English so stick to that.
4: Proofread
Use spell check tools such as Grammarly or Ginger to ensure your document is free of spelling errors and basic grammar mistakes. Don’t solely rely on these tools though. Proofread the content before hitting send or getting it printed.
To make sure you don’t skip any error, read the document out loud. You can also change the font size or font style and then re-read the content. It helps identify typos.
5: Use Active Voice
It’s a rule of thumb – write in active voice. Why? Because it adds energy to your content. The reader finds it engaging and feels he is in the moment and time.
Here is the syntax of active voice:
Subject >> verb >> object
This sequence makes the sentence simpler, straightforward, readable and of course, quicker to understand.
This does not mean you are not allowed to use passive voice at all. It’s ok to use it (because sometimes you have no choice) but keep it minimum. The more straightforward your message is, the easier it is to understand.
6: Don’t Use Buzzwords and Clichés
Business writing these days has adopted buzzwords and clichés. Honestly, it makes your content look amateur.
When you suddenly use clichés as an expression in business writing, it seems they have appeared out of nowhere. They often sound meaningless. Pushing the envelope, win-win, low hanging fruit; these are common expressions every business is using these days. They have been used so often that they make people yawn instead of inspiring them.
Even if you want to use a cliché, try coming up with a fresh metaphor. You don’t want to sound like everyone else.
7: Use Online Tools
To further improve your writing, try these tools:
- Hemingway App: It’s a great tool to improve readability by identifying the use of passive voice and adverbs in your content
- Email Excellence: This tool gives you access to several email templates to get creative with your emails
- Cliché Finder: It helps identify clichés in your writing. It’s best for those who want to make their business writing sound more professional.
Conclusion
These tips will help you communicate better and more professionally. Make sure you inform your customers about any upcoming changes in policies timely and not forget as Cox forgot in my case. It was really frustrating to call Cox phone service, again and again, to have the issue resolved. Additionally, remember not to use emoticons and exclamation marks in business writing.
