7 Business Writing Tips to Improve Corporate Writing Skills

Mary Cullen
Post by Mary Cullen
Originally published October 17, 2024, updated October 17, 2024
7 Business Writing Tips to Improve Corporate Writing Skills

One of the most important aspects of communication in business is strong writing. Whether drafting an email, crafting a report, or preparing a presentation, strong business writing skills can ensure that conveying information becomes a career and business asset.

However, many professionals struggle with crafting messages that are both concise and impactful. Challenges like unclear purpose, disorganized content, and ambiguous language often stand in the way of effective communication, leading to misunderstandings, missed opportunities, or even reputational damage. Poor business writing can create a variety of corporate pain points—from emails that fail to motivate action, to reports that confuse more than they clarify, or proposals that miss their mark. It becomes even more challenging when addressing diverse audiences, from C-level executives to clients and team members, each requiring a different tone, structure, and level of detail.

What are Good Business Writing Skills

Improving business writing skills not only makes communication more efficient but also enhances credibility, strengthens relationships, and drives business success. A well-written document can move projects forward, clarify roles and expectations, or successfully pitch an idea. 

Mastering business writing is an investment that pays off in business and career growth. This article will explore tips to improve effective business writing so you or your team can harness the advantages of strong writing.

1. Know your audience

All skilled business communications start with a clear understanding of the audience and purpose of a business document.

The two critical questions you must ask before writing anything are:

1) Who is my reader (or readers)?

2) What, exactly, do I want them to know or do?

If you cannot answer these two primal questions, stop. This consideration is the foundation upon which all other writing tasks are built. You cannot communicate effectively without considering your audience.

Once you’ve defined the reader and purpose, it’s time to analyze the more nuanced considerations about your audience. Are they executives, colleagues, or clients? Are you writing internally or externally? Upward to the C Suite, laterally to other managers, or to your direct reports? Is your audience familiar with the topic? Is the information technical but your audience is not technically skilled? Are they familiar or unfamiliar with the information? Etc.

A thorough and thoughtful analysis of your reader is essential because it is the foundation that allows you to tailor relevant content and match the right tone. 

2. Clear purpose and concise language

To ensure your reader responds to your document as you wish, revisit the important audience question you started with: “What do I want my reader to know or do?” That’s the purpose of the document and the call to action you seek.

Here are some common examples of document purposes:

  • Informative: These documents aim to provide clear and concise information. Examples include company newsletters, policy updates, and data reports. The primary focus is on delivering facts and ensuring comprehension.
  • Persuasive: Persuasive documents are crafted to influence or motivate the reader to take a particular action. This includes marketing materials, proposals, and cover letters. The language should be compelling and target the audience's interests and needs.
  • Instructional: Instructional documents provide guidelines or procedures to help the reader complete a task. Common examples are user manuals, training materials, and step-by-step guides. Clarity and systematic presentation are critical.
  • Transactional: These documents facilitate business interactions and include contracts, invoices, and email communications. Accuracy and precision are crucial since these documents often carry legal or financial implications or identify next actions needed.

Concise language is integral to effective business writing because it ensures your message is clear, direct, and easy for the reader to understand. Professionals often have limited time to process information. Conciseness eliminates unnecessary words and redundancies, focusing only on the essential points.

Think about this—business information is often complex. Why would we want to make it harder for our reader to understand with bloated writing? Remember, “write to express, not to impress.”

Examples of bloated vs. concise writing:

  • Bloated: "Due to the fact that we are experiencing an increase in demand, we are implementing additional production shifts," 
  • Concise: "Due to increased demand, we are adding production shifts." 
  • Bloated: "In order to facilitate the process, we need you to submit the documents no later than Friday" 
  • Concise: "Please submit the documents by Friday to help facilitate the process."

Using concise language, you streamline communication, making it far easier for colleagues, clients, or stakeholders to digest key information and take the necessary actions. Succinct writing is not just a stylistic preference but a functional requirement in business writing.

Avoid unnecessary jargon, embrace the power of short words, and trim extraneous words. Here is an example of how to trim words:

BLOATED 

The disparity is likely a result of the fact that cable news has become something of a media echo chamber. Even as cable news has faded a bit compared to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X, it’ll be interesting to see if social platforms can keep media competitive.

TRIMMED

The disparity is likely because cable news has become a media echo chamber. Even as cable news has faded compared to Facebook, Instagram, and X, it’ll be interesting to see how social platforms compete.

HONED

The disparity is likely because cable news has become a media echo chamber. It’ll be interesting to see how it competes against social platforms.

Learn more about concise language.

Reduce writing time. Eliminate frustration. Convey the right information. Write with clarity. Every time.

Learn more about our online, virtual, onsite, and custom business writing courses. 

 

3. Active voice

Active voice is a sentence construction where the subject performs the action expressed by the verb: “Mary closed the door.” Active voice is more direct, clear, and lively compared to passive voice.

Passive voice is where the subject receives the action: The door was closed by Mary.”

Active voice is generally preferable in business writing because:

  1. It increases clarity by clearly specifying the subject responsible for the action, which reduces ambiguity. This ensures that readers can easily understand who is doing what, which is particularly important in complex business documents where precise communication is so critical. 
  2. It tends to make sentences more concise. By eliminating unnecessary words often required by passive voice, active voice delivers information more succinctly.
  3. It creates a sense of urgency that can motivate the reader to take action, which is invaluable in persuasive writing. 
  4. Active constructions often involve stronger verbs, making the writing more engaging and lively, thus holding the reader's attention more effectively.

Generally, always write with active voice in your business writing. However, there are specific situations when using passive voice in business writing makes more sense. Passive voice is preferable in many scientific and technical documents to emphasize the results more than the actions and also when describing a process. Learn more about when passive voice should be used in business writing.

4. Proofread and edit

As we teach in our Proofreading and Grammar course, proofreading and editing are the final polishing step before you send your document to a reader. 

The best step to proofread and edit your work is to take a break after completing the first draft. This allows you to approach the document with fresh eyes, making it easier to spot errors and areas to improve your business writing. Once you have taken a break, read through the document carefully, checking for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, word choice, and awkward phrasing. 

Editing is where the magic happens. It’s where you pick through that often disjointed and unwieldy mess that’s often a first draft and refine the brilliance. Learn to edit to awesome.

It can also be helpful to read the document aloud. Note  any inconsistencies in style or structure and make necessary revisions. Finally, thoroughly review your work one last time before submitting or sharing it. When editing, always check:

  1. Is the information complete and tailored to the reader and purpose? Verify this.
  2. Is the document easy to scan? Add headings, bullet lists, and plenty of white space.
  3. Verify that grammar and punctuation is correct.

Software tools such as Microsoft Editor or Grammarly are helpful, but not infallible. If you’re squeezed on a deadline, here are tips on proofreading when time is tight

5. Use bullet points and headings

Organize your content with bullet points, headings, and plenty of white space to ensure your documents are easy to read.

These elements visually present complex information into digestible chunks, making it easier for busy readers to scan and grasp key points quickly. Well-structured content is more likely to engage your audience and hold their attention.

Our readability studies show that readers jump over any paragraph that has more than seven lines of text. Break up big chunks of text into short paragraphs with headings. 

Notice how this article uses headings to frame overall information. Use bullet lists to delineate specific information. 

Here is detailed information about how to write better bullet lists.

Style guides vary in rules about presenting bullet lists, which makes the format tricky. Here is our definitive guide about how to correctly punctuate a bullet list

6. Maintain a professional tone

A professional tone requires balancing your personality with professionalism, and should always be both authentic and suitable for the audience. 

Merriam-Webster defines tone as the style or manner of expression in writing. Tone conveys the attitude associated with the content. Just as a person speaking can modify the meaning of words through inflection and nonverbal cues, writing can convey different meanings based on the way words are chosen and combined.

Avoid overly casual language, slang, or humor that might be misinterpreted. Strive for a balance that reflects your organization's culture and values, and always be respectful and courteous.

To establish the appropriate tone, consider your audience, purpose, and context. For example, an email to a colleague might have a more relaxed tone than a proposal to a potential client. 

Adapting your tone to suit different scenarios involves choosing language that aligns with your intentions while respecting your audience's expectations. We should be authentic, but that doesn’t mean we need to bleed all over our audience. Respect and match your tone to your reader.

7. Practice regularly

Every writer has unique quirks and habits that influence their writing style. These peculiarities, though inherently part of our individual expression, may sometimes detract from clarity or understanding.

Common habits might include overusing certain phrases, relying heavily on filler words, or consistently constructing overly complex sentences.

It’s essential to recognize these patterns, practice eliminating them, and adjust accordingly. Begin by reviewing previous work to identify repetitive tendencies or feedback from peers highlighting specific areas for improvement.

All of our courses include detailed, individualized instructor feedback, so you’ll receive a clear diagnosis with relevant resources to focus your practice.

Engaging in targeted practice, such as exercises focusing on concise sentence construction or varying vocabulary, can help eliminate these habits.

Through consistent practice and mindful editing, you can refine your unique style and eliminate quirks that may limit the impact of your writing.

Conclusion

By applying this business writing advice, you can enhance your corporate writing skills. Writing will become a career and business advantage! 

Remember to know your audience, define a clear purpose, use active voice, and proofread your work. Organize your content with bullet points and headings, maintain a professional tone, and practice regularly to continually improve writing skills. 

Strong business writing skills are an invaluable asset that can elevate your career and contribute to your organization's success. I hope these writing tips will help you.

Learn the Art of Business Writing

Whatever you write, Instructional Solutions teaches a proven process to synthesize and communicate complex information. For teams and individuals.

 

Related: Guide to Business Writing

Mary Cullen
Post by Mary Cullen
Originally published October 17, 2024, updated October 17, 2024
Mary founded Instructional Solutions in 1998, and is an internationally recognized business writing trainer and executive writing coach with two decades of experience helping thousands of individuals and businesses master the strategic skill of business writing. She excels at designing customized business writing training programs to maximize productivity, advance business objectives, and convey complex information. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Rhode Island, an M.A. in English Literature from Boston College, and a C.A.G.S. in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of New Hampshire.

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