Business Writing EssentialsPresented by Paul Nicholas

People judge us by our communication skills.

Poor communication causes loss of credibility.

We communicate more often than ever.

Communication

More of our communication is written.

Today We’ll Cover ...¡ 3 phases of any writing task¡ What to do first¡ What to think about while writing¡ Cleaning up your content¡ Cleaning up your presentation¡ Dynamite proofreading techniques

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3 Phases of Writing

Define your purpose.

Why are you writing this document?

Be honest with yourself.

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What do I want my readers to do?

What do I want them to know?

What do I want them to feel?

Failing to meet readers’ needs is failing to communicate.

Your audience impacts your approach.

AudienceKnow Your

1. What is their position relative to your purpose?

2. What is their position relative to yours?

AudienceKnow Your

3. What is their position on communication?

¡ Write without worrying about editing.¡ Write to one person, even if your

audience is a group.¡ Write like you would to a

family member.

Know Your Audience

Message

Content

Icebreaker

Call to Action

Main Detail

Minor Detail

The communication paradigm has changed.

Icebreakers¡ Begin with a friendly greeting.

¡ Friendly greetings make others lower their guards.

¡ It’s like a virtual handshake.

¡ Make the line about the other party.

Call to action

Major details

Minor detailsMessage

Content

Make sure you are sending the message you intend to send.

RewritingMake sure to correct your grammar mistakes.

Fewer vs. Less¡ Use less for uncountable things

and fewer for countable ones.¡ Simone has less incentive to work, so now

she is logging fewer hours.¡ This site uses fewer technicians and fewer

machines, so it is expected to be less productive and less successful.

¡ Similarly, use many for countable things and much for uncountable ones.

Affect vs. EffectIf production increases by 15%, what will be the effect on our overall costs?

If production increases by 15%, how will that affect our overall costs?

RAVENRemember: Affect Is a Verb, Effect Is a Noun

Like

¡ Use like only when making comparisons.

¡ Harry is a terrific salesman, just like his father.

¡ Like our A widgets, our B widgets sell well in the winter.

Like

Like I projected in the previous quarterly

report, widget production costs have

gone down.

As I projected in the previous

quarterly report, widget production

costs have gone down.

I feel like we will hit our target profit margin

next quarter.

I feel we will hit our target profit margin

next quarter.

The only time to use its is to indicate possession.

The animal is not eating its food.

Its vs. It’s

The company is maintaining its profit margin.

Contractions

It isDo notCannotWould notYou areYou haveShould haveThey are

Instead of … Use …It’sDon’tCan’tWouldn’tYou’re You’veShould’veThey’re

They’re vs. Their vs. There

_________ going to eat ________ food over _________.

They’re theirthere

ContractionsSome people forget would’ve is short for would have, not would of.

1. Impactful — Just use impact instead.2. Irregardless — Regardless is proper.3. Alright — Use good, well, or fine instead.4. ’Til or till — Use until.5. Administrate — Administer is the right verb.6. Supposably and undoubtably — Should be

supposedly and undoubtedly.7. Firstly, secondly, etc. — Use first, second, etc.8. Conversate — Use converse.

Fake Words

QuizThis machine uses _____ energy

and takes up _____ space.less

less

Your leadership had a positive ______ on my performance.effect

The company showed ____ support for ____ staff.

itsits

I am delivering the order today, ____ I promised.as

QuizWe are using _____ paper because

we are printing _____ reports.less

fewer

_____ is the winning team; _____ sales numbers were the best.

There their

We should undoubtably purchase the extra machine irregardless of price.

I’m sure productivity will be alright ’til Joe is able to come back to work.

•Eliminate Run-on Sentences

Ok, let’s cover another common grammatical error, the run-on sentence.

•Eliminating run-on sentences

First of all, let me define what exactly IS a run-on sentence. A run-on sentence is a sentence that joins two or more independent clauses without using punctuation or a conjunction.

Remember an independent clause can exist as a sentence on its own. An example of this would be a sentence like…

Mr. Johnson is the head of marketing he oversees all our advertising.

That is a run-on sentence because the independent clauses have no separation. Before we talk about the best ways to correct it, I want to show you the type of run-on sentence that I

EliminateRun-on Sentences

The current expenses are in excess of the budget, we must make

adjustments by the end of the month.

Mr. Johnson is the head of marketing he oversees all our advertising.

The current expenses are in excess of the budget. We must make

adjustments by the end of the month.

The current expenses are in excess of the budget; we must make

adjustments by the end of the month.

FANBOYS

ForAnd

NorBut

OrYet

So

EliminateRun-on Sentences

The current expenses are in excess of the budget; therefore we must make adjustments by the end of the month.

The current expenses are in excess of the budget, we must make adjustments by the end of the

month, we may jeopardize our cash flow, this is a major concern for the company.

The current expenses are in excess of the budget, so we must make adjustments by the end of the

month. Otherwise we may jeopardize our cash flow, and this is a major concern for the company.

Slash theUnnecessary

Stick to the facts.

Extra verbs and adverbs can cause confusion.

Slash theUnnecessary

The latest monthly expense report shows our spending is out of control and is currently in extreme excess of

the agreed-upon budget. Consequently, as a result, we need to

immediately make significant adjustments as soon as possible

in order to avoid a disastrous effect on our already sensitive cash flow.

You don’t want readers thinking about your emotions.

Slash theUnnecessary

The expense report shows our spending is out of control and is

currently in extreme excess of the agreed upon budget. We need to make

significant adjustments as soon as possible to avoid a disastrous effect on

our already sensitive cash flow.

[pause]

Slash theUnnecessary

The expense report shows our spending is currently in excess of the budget. We need to make adjustments as soon as possible to avoid a negative effect on

our cash flow.

[pause]

Eliminate redundancies and emotional content.

Keep it professional.

Slash the Unnecessary

Never use anger or rudeness.

Present information simply.

Any variety holds attention spans.

We want readers interested and to understand.

ClearlyPresent Ideas

49:03—redo… Ok, those first four tips will help with more complex information. These next four tips will help with complex information too, and also help with larger

amounts of information.

1. Start each paragraph with its main point.

2. Use shorter paragraphs.

Structure3. Avoid long sentences.

4. Avoid using jargon.

5. Serve appetizer, main course, then dessert.

6. Use bulleted lists.

Structure7. Use subheadings.

8. Use bolding to highlight key points.

1. Don’t read on a screen.

2. Read it out loud.Reading aloud forces your brain to slow down.

Proofreading

3. Create some distance.

4. Get someone else to read it.

Read backward by sentences.

5. Read it backward.

Proofreading

1. Confirm your attachments.

2. Double- and triple-check figures.

3. Pretend before you send.

ProofreadingChecklist

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