To be a successful business writer, there are a number of important elements that you must be familiar with. Business writing is a very precise style of writing; it’s all about clarity and precision. It is important not to be verbose or ambiguous in your business writing if you want to write an effective piece. Almost any piece of writing that pertains to a business can be called business writing. This includes brochures, business plans, emails, etc.
When people read business writings, they are not only looking for what happened and why, but how you are handling the situation at hand. A person reading a business piece that has an consistent and concise style with an active tone is going to feel more positive toward your company. Good writing gives certainty to clients that matters will be properly taken care of.
Business writing is usually backwards or upside down compared to other writings. You start with the ending and then give a brief synopsis on how you got to that point. You may include other avenues that were considered and why they were not chosen.
Some Important Business Writing Tips
Organization is an important part of business writing. Not only does it help you get your thoughts down on paper in an orderly fashion, it also helps the reader to follow along in a logical pattern. It is also imperative that you review the grammar and punctuation carefully in your writing documents. Not only will spelling and punctuation errors in the document make you seem unprofessional, it can also confuse the reader and cause them to misinterpret your meaning.
Have a positive slant. Even if you are conveying a message that has an outcome other than what is optimal, a positive tone will bring a much better response. Tell your readers what good came about from the circumstance. Tell them what you can do with these results.
For example, a non-profit agency held a fundraiser. They were planning to bring in $25,000 for building repairs and play ground equipment. Discouragingly, they only got $15,000. Positive tone writing would be “Our fundraiser was successful. We can now begin building repairs.” Or “The new playground equipment will be delivered tomorrow due to our successful fundraiser.” Even though it was not as much of a success as you would have wanted, by keeping a positive attitude and showing people what can be done will promote a positive attitude in the future.
Contrast that with a defeatist toned message like “Since our fundraiser was not as successful as we had hoped, we will have to choose between playground equipment and building repairs.” This approach could be detrimental to future fundraisers because it seems as though you are un-thankful for what you did get. Being positive shows your gratefulness for the hard work or donations that you have received.
And last but not least, it’s important to use the active voice in your writing. A passive voice can make it seem like the author is unsure of what he is saying. Using an active voice will make the reader trust you because you seem sure. The active voice exerts authority, shows that you’re in control and that you know the subject you’re writing about.
