Business Writing Info Blog

Business writing resembles a dance in many ways. The writer leads, and the reader follows and responds. There is both grace and logic. Every time you write, you initiate. You start a new dance with your partner, the reader. There needs to be a connection between the writer and reader for a document to work. You lead, but this dance needs both of you.

• The owner of the painting that has been stored in the company storage room for the past twenty years has decided to sell it.

Reports are critical business writing documents.  They typically convey your company's value to potential clients (proposals) or convey your product (consulting recommendations).

This was a mistake. When delivering bad news, there are a number of techniques one can use, but they all contain two key elements to succeed: truth and sincerity.

A client in a business writing course asked today if the abbreviations i.e. and e.g. were interchangeable. They are not. Each has a specific meaning, and therefore, use:

Visionary Steve Jobs passed away yesterday from the same illness that took my father. I've long admired Steve Jobs' vision and passion and creativity, and already today I've used my iPhone and iPad, and I'm writing this with my MacBook. He allowed mere mortals, like me, to embrace the amazing daily integration and freedom of accessible technology, and in the process changed the way we all work and communicate.

Punctuation matters in business writing. Let's test this. Punctuate the following statement:
A woman without her man is nothing.

Here in Princeton, New Jersey, Hurricane Irene struck hard last Saturday. Thank you to everyone who contacted us to check in. Fortunately, our business and all employee homes are fine. Nearby, though, many communities are still struggling with flooding and damage.

This one paragraph contains a business writing error. Find and correct it:
The damages from Hurricane Irene have been severe. Power is still out in portions of Princeton, NJ. The electric company has announced all homes and businesses can expect power restoration by Monday, September 5.

As a business writing company, information flow is our business, yet we've struggled in the past to streamline our own information flow. Client comments and questions and information is sent to, and shared with, multiple people in our company, from multiple sources. Clients often share important information informally while chatting with me. Our entire team needs this information in one centralized location for our instructors to review, to provide focused and relevent business writing critiques, and plan business writing courses.