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.

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.

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.

Worrisome new research out of New York University and the University of Basel indicates that imprecise business writing and jargon isn't merely annoying and meaningless. They can also be perceived as lying to certain readers.

WRITE SOLUTIONS
Monthly Expert Business Writing Advice

(Issue 40: June, 2011) by Mary Cullen
This issue summarizes recommended business writing style guides for different tasks. It also contains a download link for a generic internal style guide for your organization.

With warm regards,
Mary Cullen

(Issue 39: April, 2011)
This issue examines how to avoid business email errors by proofreading more efficiently. Just last week, I received similar comments from prospective clients about business email they see in their organizations:

(Issue 38: March, 2011)
Last month, I presented this year's crop of jargon and gobbledygook phrases business writers want to avoid. This issue presents clearer alternatives to these overused phrases.

I noticed two responses from the many client and reader comments and contributions to this list:

   1. These phrases really annoy readers.
   2. At one point, most of these phrases were useful and even evocative. Now, they are so overused they indicate parroted, or even careless, thinking. 

(Issue 37: February, 2011)
I wrote one of the most popular articles in our business writing blog, "Top Ten Irritating Phrases," in 2009. Sadly, we business writers sometimes still mistakenly lapse into drone-like, meaningless phrases. There is a new crop of business-speak phrases we want to avoid.

I recently surveyed a wide range of clients from various industries, and asked them which over-used phrases they would like to see banished. The response was so overwhelming.

Here are the most annoying phrases clients identified (which you should definitely avoid):

   1. At the end of the day  
   2. 30,000-foot view  
   3. Give 110%  
   4. Think outside of the box
   5. FYI  
   6. 800-pound gorilla  
   7. Throw under the bus
   8. My bad
   9. Right-sizing
  10. Reaching out
  11. Low hanging fruit
  12. Paradigm shift
  13. Take it offline
  14. At this point in time
  15. Synergy
  16. Action item
  17. Skin in the game
  18. Shovel-ready
  19. We don't have the bandwidth (referring to staff)
  20. Circle back   
  21. _________ space (instead of naming industry. "eCommerce space"
  22. Change agent  
  23. Value-added solution  
  24. Incentivize
  25. 360-degree thinking

I have to add one more that particularly bothers me: "Going forward." Where else would we go? Backward?

Review substitutions for these murky words.

(Issue 36: January, 2011)
I wrote a lot last year about the increasing importance of social networks in business writing, including the potential of social media and pitfalls of social media writing for business. I recommended that you join LinkedIn to gain needed experience with "web 2.0" writing. Web 2.0 (web-speak for collaboratively interactive and user-created content) technologies are increasingly becoming part of every business person's writing, in company blogs, intranets, knowledge bases, HR and customer support portals, and technical support. Now, I'll make an even stronger statement about social networks and business writing: every business professional should be using LinkedIn.

Last week, a colleague called me to ask if I could recommend a good business accountant. I highly recommended my accountant to my colleague, and after explaining my accountant's skill and excellent customer service, my colleague was all set to hire him. Two days later, my colleague called me again, and asked: