Bad writing is actually damaging. According to the Harvard Business Review, bad writing can destroy a company’s productivity.[i] In a survey of 547 business people, 81% of them said that poorly written material wastes a lot of their time” and “what they read is frequently ineffective because it’s too long, poorly organized, unclear, filled with jargon, and imprecise.”[i]
Moreover, writing is trickier than ever with the Internet and smartphones making our attention spans short. Sam Leith, author of Write to the Point: How to Be Clear, Correct and Persuasive on the Page says, “You are not aiming to win an academic argument (with your writing), but to get your audience on side.”[ii] To gain mastery of good business writing, here are the top 10 skills to adopt:
| 1 | Business Writing Essentials | Know business writing forms and formats, understand the audience, and write clearly and concisely |
| 2 | Impactful Professional Writing | Use the correct sentence structure, grammar and spellings. Proofread and publish the proposal or report for more clarity and precision |
| 3 | Email Etiquette | Structure, format, proofread and broadcast official emails to get it right every time |
| 4 | Proposal Writing | Know how to gather facts, write persuasively, and edit and proofread a proposal |
| 5 | Handle Inter-Cultural Exchanges | Understand the recipient’s cultural differences. Position your company appropriately and be more clear in your communications |
| 6 | Minute-Taking | Learn how to take formal and informal minutes, and make important preparations beforehand |
| 7 | Business Ethics | Know how to recognise ethical and unethical behaviour, understand your company’s ethical standpoint and develop your personal code of ethics |
| 8 | Solve Problems & Make Decisions | Sieve facts from information, and learn to use SWOT analysis and problem-solving models |
| 9 | Develop Critical Thinking | Identify issues, understand assumptions, probe and evaluate |
| 10 | Set Goals | Learn to manage your writing better by using SMART goals, work management tools and time management methods |
Sources
[i] https://hbr.org/2016/09/bad-writing-is-destroying-your-companys-productivity
[ii] https://www.ft.com/content/a00f3ea0-a9c0-11e7-ab66-21cc87a2edde