Business writing: 6 tips to keep it clear

Business writing: 6 tips to keep it clear   May 23, 2022 When dashing off your next memo, report or email, cut right to the core points. Readers see your writing as a reflection of how you think, so keep it direct and logical.   HR directors from half of the 120 major American corporations polled in a recent study said they consider writing ability when making promotions. “You can’t move up without writing skills,” one HR director said. And he doesn’t mean only accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar.   The academic writing style that served you well in school or college won’t cut it in the workplace, where clarity and conciseness rule. Follow these guidelines to write more clearly and concisely:

 

 

1. Keep sentences short & sweet. The average businessperson prefers to read on an eighth-grade level. Accommodate that preference by keeping sentences to no more than 15 words. If a sentence runs longer, try to carve it in two.   2. Never use a long word when a short one will do. Go back through your memo or report and replace difficult-to-read multisyllable words with one- or two-syllable ones. Examples: Replace “illustrate” with “show” and “facilitate” with “run” (as in “run the meeting”).   3. Write in active voice, not passive. Example: Change “It was argued by the customer that an error was made by the shipping department” to “The customer argued that the shipping department had erred.”

 

 

4. Rescue “swallowed verbs.” To many people, “business writing” means turning perfectly good verbs into noun phrases … which may seem professional but only muddies your writing. Examples: Change “submitted an application” to “applied” and “gave authorization” to “authorized.”   5. Eschew “make” and “made.” Technically, this falls under “swallowed verbs,” but it’s so common that it deserves a rule of its own. Examples: Change “make a decision” to “decide”; “made a recommendation” to “recommended”; “make a copy” to “copy”; “made an error” to “erred.”   6. Abandon weak “there is/there are” introductory phrases. Most of the time, they’re unnecessary and only obscure your sentence’s subject. Examples: Change “There are four copies of this on your desk” to “Four copies of this are on your desk”; change “There is no one who loves his work like Mr. Deeds” to “No one loves his work like Mr. Deeds.”