Everyone requires business writing skills, don’t they? The question might sound rhetorical, but it really shouldn’t.
Unless you’re a top income earner in a particular field, or you’re an executive in a rapidly growing corporation, you are going to yearn for the opportunities to put these skills to work.
The rewards for splendid business writing skills could be phenomenal, like getting your start-up on the ground, communicating effectively to get additional funds for your start-up, or collaborating successfully with decision makers in your firm, leading to some advancement up the corporate ladder.
Regardless of use, effective business writing is a top, top bill for accelerating quickly to your goals.
What is Business Writing, you might ask?
Business Writing refers to all form of communication that occur in the professional environment. From proposals, to memorandum, to correspondence to an individual or organization’s stakeholders, all forms of writing to these group of people is referred to as business writing.
You’ll know you’ve gotten involved in some form of business writing, when you’ve had to send an email to a client or customer, you’ve written a proposal, you communicate in written terms toward business or company objectives, or you interacted in a professional gathering with the objective to attain business goals.
So, what steps can we take to improve our writing skills? And more like, what can we do to really improve in our business writing communication?
Determine the objective for which you want to write
Everyone who has been in business in one form or the other, has undertaken business writing, and so writing in this manner is not new. However, there is room for improvement.
Before putting pen to paper, you should determine the objective you want to accomplish. Identifying the purpose for the writing and the addresses would help to sharpen your thinking, and channel your thoughts to effective communication with the recipient(s).
Use words precisely and directly
This is probably the only time ‘misers’ are going to be applauded. Effective business writing requires that words are used sparingly and straight to the point. Investors, company makers, decision makers, etc. appreciate communication that is simple and straight to the point, leaving them room to focus on the more salient aspects of the business.
The most effective business proposals, it is said, are those that minimise investors’ time, while achieving the most poignant communication effect possible.
Preview writings similar to the writing you want to carry out
There are several samples in books, the library, the internet, and other sources on how to write various types of business writing and effective communication skills. You shouldn’t be at a loss to select extremely good examples to distinctly matches the objective you are writing.
The Defence for Reading
There is probably no method to improve in business writing, other than to engage in reading consistently. Reading expands the reader’s access to new words, and new methods of influencing prospects.
Read in the area of your field; and also, read some of the best books written on business.
Thanks to Amazon, you can select the best business writing books available.
The HBR Guide to Better Business Writing, by Bryan Garner, is also another highly recommended resource.
Avoid Plagiarism
The above statement cannot be repeated enough. The act of plagiarism could be rare in business correspondence. However, with the internet filled with methods on how to write business plans, grant proposals, business proposals, or grant writing, you never can tell when you’ve crossed the threshold, and are guilty of plagiarism.
The key here is to research and use plagiarism checkers. If you are looking for plagiarism checkers attuned to a particular area, for example, the UK etc., you can look up plagiarism checker uk on the search engines.
Keep practising
Practice makes perfect, the saying goes. There is no better way to ascertain that fact than when you carry out a continual study of effective business writing.
Put down the fun book down, the novel etc., and turn down the radio. If you are really serious about the business, and are really serious about money, you can acquire some skills in business writing!