BUSINESS WRITING AND EDITING FOR PROFESSIONALS

Transcription

1 BUSINESS WRITING AND EDITING FOR PROFESSIONALS DISCLAIMER: The principles and suggestions in this handout and the BUSINESS WRITING AND EDITING FOR PROFESSIONALS webinar are presented to apply to diverse personal and company situations. These materials and the overall seminar are for general informational and educational purposes only. The materials and the seminar, in general, are presented with the understanding that CareerTrack is not engaged in rendering legal advice. You should always consult an attorney with any legal issues CareerTrack, a division of PARK University Enterprises, Inc. Registered U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and Canadian Trade-Marks office. Except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, no part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from PARK University Enterprises, Inc. BGG1306

2 ONE Is Writing the Best Way to Communicate? Face-to-Face Communication: Lets you make eye contact Gives you the opportunity to interpret nonverbal messages Allows you to hear tone of voice Lets you ask clarifying questions Written Communication: Allows you to repeat someone s exact message Lets you retrieve the exact message after an extended period of time Is deliverable to a widely scattered audience Lets you reach a large audience Four Characteristics of Effective Business Communication Clear Concise Concrete Crucial 2

3 ONE Five Simple Rules That Guarantee Clarity and Simplicity in Any Kind of Writing 1. Know your purpose 2. Know your audience 3. Know what you want your audience to do 4. Know how to reach your audience 5. Know how to influence your audience Tone Benefits Consequences Go From Start to Finish in Five Easy Steps 1. Prewrite 2. Draft 3. Revise 4. Proofread 5. Publish 3

4 TWO Prewrite Eliminate Blank Page Paranoia Mindmap Outline Sticky Notes Storyboard Still Facing Writer s Block? Try This Step away and do something menial Go for a walk Reword the problem Get a drink or something to eat Ask someone else 4

5 THREE Draft State Your Objective Clearly and Concisely In one sentence What you want them to do What you want them to know Why Voice Is One of the Most Essential Elements of Writing Active voice: Evokes action Is shorter Is more engaging Passive: All health forms should be turned in by employees to their managers before Wednesday. Active: Employees, please turn in all health forms to your managers before Wednesday. 5

6 THREE Organize Your Main Points Chronological Organize thoughts in the order in which they happened Use to present a history of events Use to tell a story Cause and Effect Shows relationship among actions or events and their consequences Step-by-Step Use to present steps in a fixed order Use to present instructions Inverted Pyramid Put the most important pieces of information up front Put supporting information in subsequent sentences or paragraphs Compare and Contrast Use to analyze and evaluate two or more things, showing either differences or similarities Effective in showing how one thing is better than another 6

7 FOUR Revise 3-Step Quick Assessment to Help You Hear Your Message Read it aloud, for content and tone Imagine your reader reading and reacting to it Have someone read it to you Rewrite for Clarity Make sure your opening sentence grabs the reader s attention Get to the point immediately Remove material that doesn t support or further your point Check logic of organizational pattern Check transitions and continuity Check accuracy Check call to action 7

8 FOUR Red Flag Words and Phrases You Should Never Use in Business Writing always/never very/really to be honest on account of irregardless should have/would have sort of/kind of due to the fact that the reason why is because utilize Best Practices for Keeping Documentation Consistent and Up-to-Date Research online Refer to copies of your boss s documents Find, keep, and emulate examples of good business writing Reuse previous, similar documents as template 8

9 FIVE Proofread and Publish Use a Company Style Guide to Streamline Communications Creates consistency across the organization Keeps you from accidentally offending your readers Provides good examples Publish Error-Free Documents Run Spell Check, but it won t catch everything Look for transposed letters Keep a list of your most common personal errors Wait a day Scan first Read aloud and silently Have someone else proof content you re too close to Check text against the original Triple-check numbers Check alignment -- especially of numbers Check captions Recommended Style Guides Franklin Covey Style Guide The Gregg Reference Manual The Chicago Manual of Style AP Stylebook 9