Write It Well

A heavy dose of recession makes clients and customers more cynical than usual. MSNBC has a list of ten advertising words to avoid in 2009, including “free,” “guarantee,” and “synergy.” According to the article, consumers don’t have time for anything more than “straightforward, honest advertising messages.” Hyped-up, sales-y language not only makes consumers suspicious, but seldom survives a decent spam filter. 

Avoiding certain words isn’t going to magically fix your writing. But if you keep your eye out for jargon, inflated language, and the passive voice, you’ll have a much better chance at communicating effectively. For more tips on effective business writing, check out Write It Well’s selection of books.

How to start? Liz Danzico, the information architect and blogger at Bobulate, thinks that e-mail salutations have three basic purposes. In “Anatomy of a Salutation,”  she writes that salutations not only function as greetings, but set tone and establish a hierarchy between writers. More interesting, she notes that e-mail salutations evolve fairly quickly during back-and-forth correspondence. Most e-mail threads start out formal (“Dear Professor Miles”), but by the third e-mail the correspondents often drop to an informal “Hi,” or no greeting at all.

When writing a salutation, follow your correspondent’s cues. You’ll look stuffy and cold if you return a “Hey Charlie” with a “Dear Mr. Bowers,” and you could easily insult someone by using only their first  name. I like to check my correspondents signatures — if they sign only a first name, I can use only their first name, and if they sign their full name, I address them by their title and last name.

For more advice on writing business e-mail, check out E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide.

I get a lot of requests like this: “My co-worker Dan always says ___, and I know it’s wrong. Can you tell me why I’m right so I can correct him?”

I always hesitate, picturing some hapless drone about to get slapped with the Fear of Grammar. Most likely, the correction will make Dan feel personally insulted and insecure about his writing. When Dan next sits down to compose an e-mail, he’ll over-correct. His writing style will be formal and convoluted. In the end, Dan will be worse at communicating than before he was stricken with the Fear of Grammar.

It doesn’t have to be so bleak. There are tactful and affirming ways to address a co-worker’s mistakes.

• First, do your research. Check contemporary usage manuals and talk to your favorite grammar expert. You might find that you were carrying around an outdated pet peeve, or that the question is highly controversial in academic and editorial circles. Don’t deliver a correction that’s the least bit controversial.
• Second, think about the seriousness of the problem. Does Dan’s writing affect his ability to do his job or form good relationships? Will Dan take it as an insult, or will he appreciate the constructive criticism? Is his professional image at stake? Will Dan and others think you’re overstepping your bounds? Unless it’s your job to make sure everyone writes clearly and professionally, your insight might do more damage than good.
• If, after weighing all the issues, you still think the problem is important enough to address, approach it carefully. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Find a good example of the error, and say, “Dan, I think your idea would be more clear if you said….” Take yourself lightly, and use humor if you’re prone to funniness. No good writing will come of pompous self-righteousness.

Twitter — the “microblogging” website that lets users post tiny messages to each other — sounded frivolous at first. Why should I care about the mundane details of everyone else’s lives? Especially when I’m a large company? A recent article in Business Week found that quite a few companies do care, in fact. Listening in on their customers’ “tweets” helps them provide better customer service, for example.

Some tips for using Twitter and other microblogging services:

• Go for crisp details. The 140-character limit will help you practice writing concisely!
• Keep it light. Halting, formal language works better in long legal documents.
• Look at other successful users for cues on how often to post. Posting too much is a bit piggish, but frequency also helps you create your online identity.

From blogs to YouTube, Web 2.0 technology has completely renovated the Internet. Savvy businesses recognize that social networking and user-generated content are great for professionals, too. In fact, a recent study by the McKinsey Quarterly found that three-quarters of executives invest in Web 2.0 trends. How do you maintain your professional identity in a world of up-to-the-minute status updates, wildfire blog memes, and perpetually chattering podcasts?

It’s fun — and addictive — to broadcast your life with a Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn profile, a blog, or a Twitter feed. But Facebook’s not just for fun anymore. Potential employers review their applicants’ blogs and online profiles, and colleagues will eagerly “friend” each other on social networking sites. Embarrassing photos aside, the words you write you on the Internet will follow you. Let’s hope they’re all charming and prudent words. Some tips on writing for social-networking and user-generated web sites:

• Look around. Every community has a particular writing style. Avoid being either too formal, too informal, or just plain lost.
• Keep confidential, damaging, and offensive writing off the Internet. It may sound obvious, but people hurt each other and themselves all the time by posting unnecessary garbage.
• Write tidily. Sloppy, error-ridden profiles, posts, and messages make you look careless, no matter where they are on the Internet.
• Keep a professional blog. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can gather a portfolio of writing samples if you blog regularly.
• Choose your level of intimacy. You don’t have to be friends with your colleagues on Facebook. Tell them to link to you on LinkedIn if you’re trying to separate your professional and personal lives.

We are pleased to announce that our two-day course, Business Writing, has been approved for CEU credits.  Read more about how Write It Well can deliver a two-day business writing workshop that gets results.