13 ways to improve your writing

Excerpted from the Executive Report: Business Writing - 83 Tips to Keep You from Looking Dumb

Here are 13 ways to make your memos, e-mails and other business writing clearer and more powerful.  

1. Shorter verbs will add power to your writing. Instead of: terminate and secure Write: end and get  

2. Personalize your writing by putting people in it.

Instead of: Profits are up 12 percent.
Write: CFO Julie Smith reports profits are up 12 percent.  

3. Write in specific terms.

Instead of: He worked for a company in the South.
Write: He worked as a consultant for the XYZ Co. in Atlanta.  

4. Try to keep sentences short - between seven and 20 words.  

5. Spell out numbers from zero to nine. Use figures for 10 and higher.

Example: Work on the facility will begin in four days and last about 12 weeks.  

6. Express large numbers clearly.

Instead of: $7,000,000
Write: $7 million  

7. To give your writing a more personal tone, use contractions: it's, isn't, couldn't, here's, etc.  

8. Pronouns help draw in the reader: you, me, him, her, our, etc.  

9. Unless the reader will react negatively to your news, try to stick with the active voice.

Instead of: Two proposals were approved by the committee.
Write: The committee approved two proposals.  

10. Use questions to make your writing livelier.
Instead of: Let me know if the plan has merit.
Write: Do you think the plan has merit?  

11. Try not to proofread on your screen. You'll catch more mistakes if you print out a document.   

12. Do not rely on spell checker. It will not detect misused words.  

13. Avoid using formal, stuffy phrases.

Instead of: As of this date
Write: Today

Instead of: The committee was in agreement
Write: The committee agreed  

DIGGING DEEPER
One of the biggest problems in business is communicating clearly. How often have you had to scratch your head after trying to decipher someone's memo? For help, read the Executive Report: Business Writing: 83 Tips to Keep You from Looking Dumb

Comments

[Ernest Nicastro]

Good basic tips.

I take issue, though, with #4 as an across-the-board recommendation. If you use all short sentences your writing will have a choppy, staccato quality to it. All long sentences and your writing will come across as dull and boring.

The better recommendation is to vary your sentence length. The variety makes for better "music" and will make your piece more interesting to read.

[Hildebrand, The Insurance Warden]

Ach! My boss tells me these are the changes I need to make. Alas, I just don't have a head for the kind of writing that you (and he) propose. I like the style which you call "stuffy."

[Julie]

Regarding Tip #5, in addition to the suggestions, I always spell out a number if it appears at the beginning of a sentence.

For example: Thirty-three students were expelled.

As opposed to: 33 students were expelled.

[Danyl Raye]

My staff have made a conscience effort over the past 12 months to eliminate "you" from emails. It can be overused and the "power" becomes more of a finger pointing statement. Also, in customer service it places the blame, work, expectation back on the ones that needs assistance.

In the past 6 months we have decided that "get" is slang and unprofessional and can leave the reader interpreting the IQ of the writer as low.

I agree that these tips can assist in making points clearer when the reader is skimming emails, but when writing for professionalism I couldn't disagree more with the points above.

[No Bull Blog]

I agree that it is important not to get carried away with the use of the word "you." And if used properly, the word "get" is just fine. Definitely not slang or unprofessional. Maybe your group uses it in a way that I don't. My experience has been that intelligent readers appreciate straightforward writing. Clarity is what is important.

[General Liability Insurance]

Oh, one more tip -- write ledgibily. Too many execs scratch our words that only their admin assistants could read!