5 mindset changes that’ll supercharge your business writing
5 mindset changes that’ll supercharge your business writing
By Stephanie Oley
Writing effectively in business is essential to career progression – in just about every industry. Yet all too often, business writing is poorly structured, densely expressed and lacking in clarity.
What’s going on? Education system letting us down? Modern life hijacking our senses? Or is AI (artificial intelligence) and other technology just making us lazy?
I’ve facilitated business writing workshops for many years at CCE, and feel the issue isn’t that deep.
From reading thousands of writing samples, I believe that most workplace writing problems happen through errors of judgment. For example, when writers aren’t clear on the audience’s needs. Or they write without a clear goal or plan. When they over-explain the technical details. Or fail to clarify their main point. In other words, it’s the person’s approach that’s often incorrect – not the execution.
Of course, grammar and style do play a part in writing well. And yes, AI will be your best workplace buddy if your skills are lacking on that front. However, good writing is about mindset, so let’s take a look at five broad areas to get right.
1. Understand the process
Writing has a logical process, and you can’t mix up the order of the steps. Start by knowing your subject-matter and having a clear angle. If you don’t know, ask. Don’t spend days or weeks of billable time developing work that will be wrong for your client, manager or other reader.
With this angle defined, plan to write the document in four clear stages (not everything at once). I love the guidance of Professor Betty Flowers, Professor of English at the University of Texas: “Brain-dump like a madman. Structure like an architect. Refine like a carpenter. Scrutinise like a judge.”
What she means is: first confirm your facts, level of technicality, and other high-level areas. Next, develop the structure: get your information in the right order, with a clear hierarchy of main and supporting points. The third stage is expression: the wordsmithing that makes your points sing. The last stage is style: trimming redundancies, correcting grammar and unifying style.
2. Start with a plan
Most business writing has one of three objectives: to inform, request or persuade the reader. Start by clarifying this intent, especially at the beginning and end of your document. You should also decide on the document’s length. Half a page? Three pages? Twenty? Set a limit, and stick to it.
Next, tailor the content to your reader’s understanding and priorities. Too many professionals explain from their own perspective. In reality, your reader could be more numbers-driven, risk-averse or future-focused than you’d imagined. All of this will influence how they perceive your argument. Make sure to address their needs.
Finally, create a mindmap of your main point and sub-points. Mindmaps are a powerful way of focusing only on what’s important, then getting this in the right order. If you haven’t mindmapped your writing before, watch Forbes contributor Carmine Gallo’s 4-minute video, ‘How to pitch anything in 15 seconds’. You’ll immediately get its benefits.
3. Structure with intent
Good structure helps your reader find the right content at the right stage of the document.
One useful structure for emails is the ‘Purpose – Context – Action’ approach. Open the email by clarifying why you’re reaching out: whether it’s to update on progress, ask a question, flag a concern, or something else. Add two or three lines of context. End by clarifying what the reader should now think, feel or do.
In longer documents, your argument must be cohesive across multiple pages and supporting details. A good report template can help, but you might also want to learn about the hierarchy structure – described here at the Australian Government Style Manual.
4. Declutter, declutter
Most first drafts are around 30 per cent too long. That means it’s now time to ‘kill your darlings’ – those clever phrases you’re fond of, but which clutter the overall piece. Delete as many redundant points, descriptions and examples as you can.
Simplify your sentences and vocabulary, too. Your subject-matter is probably quite dense – strategy, management, technology or something else, perhaps. The reader needs a mental break from all that intensity.
To do so, use plain-vanilla words such as ‘aware of’ instead of ‘cognisant of’. Or, ‘we partner with our customers’ instead of, ‘we optimise our mutually beneficial relationships to co-innovate for future growth’. I didn’t make up that last example, either. It was written by an actual Australian company.
5. Find good support
Not sure if you’ve used that hyphen, conjunction or other element correctly? Sometimes, even the slickest writer on your team won’t have the answers to your questions. Make sure you know which resources to consult while on the job, depending on the issue you’re facing.
For example, bookmark the Australian Government Style Manual for clear, simple answers to any punctuation and grammar questions. Use Word’s built-in Editor function to check for dangling modifiers, passive voice and more. Try Grammarly to simplify your expression. When all else fails, just Google it. You’ll be surprised how quickly you get precise answers even to questions such as which preposition to use, or when to use ‘which’ instead of ‘that’.