Business writing for dummies: natalie canavor

Business Writing For Dummies® Published by: John Wiley & S ons, Ltd., The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, www.wiley.com This edition first published 2013 © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher Wiley 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Writing For Dummies® Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/businesswritingu to view this book's cheat sheet Table of Contents Introduction Conventions Used in This Book What You Need Not Read Foolish Assumptions How This Book Is Organised Part I: Winning with Writing Part II: Putting Your Skills to Work for Every day Business Writing Part III: Writing Business Documents, Promotional Materials, and Presentations Part IV: Writing for the Digital Universe Part V: Thinking Global, Writing Global Part VI: The Part of Tens Icons Used in This Book Where to Go from Here Part I: Winning with Writing Chapter 1: Make Writing Your Not-So-Secret Weapon Planning and Structuring Every Message Apply ing Audience-Plus-Goal Strategy to Any Business Need Impressing with email, letters, and business documents Using stories and value propositions Writing the spoken word Writing online: from website to blog to tweet Globalizing business English Chapter 2: Planning Your Message: Your Secret Weapon Adopting the Plan-Draft-Edit Principle Fine-Tuning Your Plan: Your Goals and Audience Defining y our goal: Know what y ou want Defining y our audience: Know y our reader Brainstorming the best content for y our purpose Writing to groups and strangers Imagining y our readers Making People Care Connecting instantly with y our reader Focusing on what’s-in-it-for-them Highlighting benefits, not features Finding the concrete, limiting the abstract Choosing Your Written Voice: Tone Being appropriate to the occasion, relationship and culture Writing as y our authentic self Being relentlessly respectful Smiling when y ou say it Using Relationship-Building Techniques Personalizing what y ou write Framing messages with ‘y ou’ not ‘I’ Chapter 3: Making Your Writing Work: The Basics Stepping into 21st Century Writing Sty le Aiming for a clear, simple sty le Apply ing readability guidelines Finding the right rhy thm Achieving a conversational tone Enlivening Your Language Rely ing on every day words and phrasing Choosing reader-friendly words Focusing on the real and concrete Finding action verbs Crafting comparisons to help readers Using Reader-Friendly Graphic Techniques Building in white space Toy ing with ty pe Keeping colors simple Adding effective graphics Breaking space up with sidebars, boxes and lists Chapter 4: Self-Editing: Professional Ways to Improve Your Own Work Changing Hats: Going from Writer to Editor Choosing a way to edit Distancing y ourself from what y ou write Reviewing the Big and Small Pictures Assessing content success Assessing the effectiveness of y our language Avoiding telltale up-down-up inflection Looking for repeat word endings Pruning prepositions Cutting all non-contributing words Moving from Passive to Active Thinking ‘action’ Trimming ‘there is’ and ‘there are’ Cutting the haves and have nots Using the passive deliberately Sidestepping Jargon, Clichés and Extra Modifiers Reining in jargon Cooling the clichés Minimizing modifiers Chapter 5: Troubleshooting Your Writing: Fixing Common Problems Organizing Your Document Paragraphing for logic Building with subheads Working with transitions Working in lists: Numbers and bulleting Catching Common Mistakes Using comma sense Using ‘however’ correctly Matching nouns and pronouns Weighing ‘which’ vs ‘that’ Pondering ‘who’ vs ‘that’ Choosing ‘who’ vs ‘whom’ Beginning with ‘and’ or ‘but’ Ending with prepositions Reviewing and Proofreading: The Final Check Checking the big picture Proofreading y our work Creating y our very own writing improvement guide Part II: Putting Your Skills to Work for Everyday Business Writing Chapter 6: Writing Emails That Get Results Fast-Forwarding Your Agenda In-House and Out-of-House Getting Off to a Great Start Writing subject lines that get y our message read Using salutations that suit Drafting a strong email lead Building Messages That Achieve Your Goals Clarify ing y our own goals Assessing what matters about y our audience Determining the best content for emails Structuring Your Middle Ground Closing Strong Perfecting Your Writing for Email Monitoring length and breadth Signalling sty le Going short: Words, sentences, paragraphs Using graphic techniques to promote clarity Using the signature block Chapter 7: Creating High Impact Business Correspondence Succeeding with Cover Letters Planning a cover letter Opening with pizazz Targeting a cover letter’s multiple audience Saving something special for cover letters Networking with Letters Making requests: Informational interviews, references and intros Say ing thank y ou Writing to Complain Crafting Letters of Record Introducing Yourself in Letter Form Creating Sales Letters Part III: Writing Business Documents, Promotional Material and Presentations Chapter 8: Building the Biggies: Major Business Documents Writing the Executive Summary Giving long documents perspective Determining what matters Shaping Successful Reports Focusing reader attention Shaping the report Drafting the report Fast-tracking Yourself through Proposals Writing formal proposals Writing informal proposals Creating Business Plans Writing Tips for All Business Documents Finding the right tone Putting headlines to work Incorporating persuasive techniques Chapter 9: Promoting Yourself and Your Organization Finding the Heart of Your Business Message Searching for true value Making y our case in business terms Stating y our personal value Representing y our department Putting y our core value message to work Finding, Shaping, and Using Stories Finding y our story Building y our story Story -writing tips Putting stories to work Using Value Messages and Stories to Promote Writing better résumés Writing online profiles Writing email promotions Chapter 10: Writing for the Spoken Word Elevating Your Elevator Speech Defining y our goal Defining y our audience Strategizing y our content Representing y our organization and y ourself Preparing and Giving Presentations Planning what to say Crafting y our presentations with writing Integrating visuals Standing and delivering Scripting for Video Introducing y ourself with video Sharing expertise Writing the script Scripting Yourself for Practical Purposes Composing talking points for fun and profit Scripting telephone messages that work Part IV: Writing for the Digital Universe Chapter 11: Evolving Your Writing for Online Media Gaining Perspective on Digital Media Changing significantly – and y et very little Leveraging y our digital power Strategizing Your Digital Media Program Thinking through y our online goals Attracting the online audiences y ou want Turning Scanners into Readers Adopting a share-it outlook Clarify ing y our message Communicating credibility Cutting the hy pe, maxing the evidence Using non-linear strategies Incorporating interactive strategies Shaping Your Writing for Digital Media Loosening up Keeping it simple Keeping it global Keeping it short: Tweets and texting Chapter 12: Writing for Websites and Blogs Shaping Your Words for Websites and Blogs Working on y our writing sty le for websites and blogs Building a Traditional Website Defining y our goals Refining y our audience ideas Structuring a basic site Assembling a home page Calling for action Writing y our inside pages Incorporating Graphics and Other Elements Creating Your Own Blog Planning y our blog Choosing a subject Writing for blogs Categories and tagging Part V: Thinking Global, Writing Global Chapter 13: Using English as the Global Language of Business Considering Native English in All Its Flavors Adapting Your Writing for Global English Writing Messages to Send ‘Round the World’ Monitoring y our assumptions Connecting with other cultures Writing first messages Writing Other Materials Translating promotional materials Globalizing y our website Reviewing y our Internet presence Chapter 14: Adapting Business English to Specific Countries Writing to China Writing to Russia Writing to France Writing to Japan Writing to India Writing to Mexico Writing to Germany Writing to Brazil Part VI: The Part of Tens Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Advance Your Career with Writing Use Every thing You Write to Build Your Professional Image Write a Great Elevator Speech – and Use It Write a Long-Range Career Plan for Yourself Write an Ad for Your Dream Job Go Out of Your Way to Thank People Take Notes to Control the Conversation Use Messages to Stay in Touch and Build Relationships Write First-Rate Blog Posts, Comments and Tweets Know How to Explain Your Value Profile Your Supervisor for a Better Relationship Chapter 16: Ten Ways to Tweet Strategically Plan Your Twitter Program Decide Who You Want to Be Take Pains with Your Bio and Photo Listen to Your Target Audiences credential and personal quality you can think of Going through this process shows you how well you currently match up and what you need to work on Go a step further and write a cover letter as if you were applying for the job right now Highlight the experience and capabilities that match up Thinking this through clarifies what you want and the opportunities to look for Flip to Chapter for more insights into compelling cover letters, and Chapter for ideas on how to distill your essential value Go Out of Your Way to Thank People The busier people feel, the more they forget to be polite, let alone appreciative One of the easiest ways to make a good impression is simply to say thank you, in writing, when someone does you a good turn She may have given you a referral or reference, introduced you to someone or tipped you off to an opportunity Or she may have interviewed you for a job A graceful thank you helps you stand out It establishes general good feeling, gives you an edge and puts you in line for more favors To write a good thank you, think about what the other person values hearing Be specific For example: ‘Your virtual introduction helped me understand the profession better, and also, how to prepare myself for it.’ For extra points, try handwritten notes People really appreciate them See Chapter for more ideas Take Notes to Control the Conversation Write things down Later, you may be the only person who knows what actually happened People forget quickly when they have a lot going on M ost people duck the role of note-taker at meetings, but it holds interesting potential Use your notes to articulate the main points and future actions in a form suitable for sharing – an outline with bullets or numbered points is often sufficient Your written notes make you the one who recaps what occurred and what decisions were made Taking this action role brings you kudos and puts you in the loop for new information Taking notes on an everyday basis also pays dividends An assistant manager I once worked with routinely used a notebook to jot down a line or two for every reasonably important conversation and event She was able to flip through her notes and say, ‘Actually, that document came in on January 17th’ or ‘We talked about that on April 3rd and you agreed to it this way.’ She was hard to argue with But take care not to use this tactic on your boss too much Use Messages to Stay in Touch and Build Relationships M any written messages today help you interact with people you don’t yet know – and may never meet Consciously use business email and correspondence to personalize your messages, as appropriate Get personal gradually A first message should be fairly formal If your correspondent mentions a vacation or a personal milestone, perhaps inquire about that in subsequent correspondence Or fall back on the weather, as you in face-to-face conversation Take care when interacting with other cultures, however M ost expect more formality than you may be accustomed to, but may see relationships as prerequisite to business So write with formality but be sensitive to the other person’s cues – like moving to a first name basis, for example, or inquiring about the family Chapters 13 and 14 offer a number of suggestions Also use writing to maintain contacts and connections after you establish them Actively build a network of colleagues, peers, friends, former co-workers and even supervisors You’ll forge unexpected strengths Write First-Rate Blog Posts, Comments and Tweets A growing number of employers and recruiters look to the Internet for their hiring these days They’re interested in people who show the ability to think and articulate their ideas well, use good judgment and are comfortable with social media and other online tools See everything you post as a chance to showcase your skills Your online presence lets people evaluate you almost as if they’re eavesdropping Take care with your conversations, comments, and tweets (See Chapter 11 and 16 for specific advice.) Avoid criticizing anyone else or exhibiting bad temper or hasty judgment Above all, take care with your writing! Don’t come across as semi-literate and careless Think your ideas through Express them well Edit out misspellings, bad grammar and anything that reveals you to be less than the person you want to be Nothing is ever really erased At least one website is devoted to tweets that were deleted by the important people who wrote them! Know How to Explain Your Value Always be prepared to tell other people what you contribute, the value of your department’s work, and your organization’s goals and/or accomplishments Think your message through and write it down, even if you expect to deliver it verbally when called for When applying for jobs, you must be able to articulate your value to your prospective employer Today keeping a job is often as much of a challenge as getting a new one Chances are pretty good that a current or new supervisor may ask you to explain your work, which probably means justifying your salary when budget cuts loom Know the answer by working it out in writing Tackle the challenge similarly when explaining your department’s work And write up your best understanding of your organization’s goals beyond the obvious one of making money Think about how the company plans to that: Expand? Cut costs? Improve service? Raise public perception? When you align with company goals you a better job – and you may well be noticed To better engage employees with their ‘mission’ is a big driver for most organizations Profile Your Supervisor for a Better Relationship Creating a written, detailed profile of the person you report to can show you how to communicate with him better, ask for what you need and perform to higher expectations The process, which I describe in detail in Chapter 3, also helps you better support the boss and make him look good – always an underlying part of any job Create a list of applicable factors, such as: management style; communication style; how he makes decisions (Ideas? Statistics? Impact on people); values and priorities (Efficiency? Teaming? Bottom line? New technology?) Think also about his hot buttons, positioning in the company, biggest problems, ambitions, what he cares about, what keeps him up at night You may be surprised at how much you know and can intuit, and how much the information helps you when you want something or wish to contribute more and be recognized M ore than once, I’ve seen people turn an entire relationship around after creating a profile because they better understood the boss and acted on this knowledge Chapter 16 Ten Ways to Tweet Strategically In This Chapter Designing a program to accomplish your goals Contributing material that’s valuable to others Tweeting for jobs, reputation, and more Twitter, the social media mini-blog site that relays 140-character messages among its users, is a serious medium of communication despite all the dull ‘chatter’ that characterizes much of it Last I checked the community had nearly 200 million monthly active users sending out an average of 58 million tweets daily You may want to be part of this platform for any number of reasons, ranging from job-hunting to establishing expertise M aking a Twitter account influential and professionally useful requires a real commitment on several levels For your tweets to make an impact, the social media gurus say you need to send out five to 20 of them per day You need to spend some time identifying who and what is out there, and choose people you want to follow And you need to look at Twitter strategically, integrating it with all your other outreach, both online and offline The following ten essentials come from a writer’s perspective You can up your tweet savvy with Twitter For Dummies by Laura Fitton, M ichael Gruen and Leslie Poston Plan Your Twitter Program Random tweeting produces random results Consciously build a Twitter program that aligns with and complements your website, blog, video, other social media investments, and traditional media too (your print materials and presentations, for example) Plan an overall strategic framework based on what you want to accomplish Do you want to establish yourself as an authority in your field? Build a following? Draw people to your website or blog? Find a job? Connect with like-minded people – or influential ones? Defining your goals for any communication initiative – and especially Twitter – helps you decide who you want to reach and guides you to the best content for your purpose (see Chapter 11 for more on goal setting and writing guidelines for social media) Decide Who You Want to Be Unlike formal media such as résumés or even websites, Twitter gives you the opportunity to show off your personality and individuality But don’t go freewheeling Try for carefully spontaneous M ake an active decision about how to represent yourself Humor is great if you’re good at it, and occasional sharing of personal information makes you real to your followers But determine in advance how you want others to perceive you and what is appropriate to your goals If you’re aiming for a job in banking, don’t share your romantic adventures or tell everyone that you made a fool of yourself at a party last night If you want a copywriting job, you may want to show off your creativity Set your own guidelines and stick to them You’re branding yourself There’s never an advantage to demonstrating bad temper, a mean spirit, or sarcastic turn of mind – no matter how terrific it feels for 10 seconds Negative or nasty comments don’t play well online, and are apt to be widely circulated And never forget that once ‘published,’ your short-sighted remarks (or images) may live forever to embarrass or even undermine you I can think of many public officials in a position to reinforce this advice If you recognize yourself as someone who’s regularly tempted to send out angry or ill-considered tweets, use Twitter’s scheduled/delayed posting feature, or an app that delays posting until your better angel has a chance to take back the helm Take Pains with Your Bio and Photo Twitter gives you 160 characters to tell everyone who you are Use the space well Try for a lively description that crystallizes your uniqueness, framed by your goals I tell you how to identify and express your own core value, or that of your business, in Chapter Use Twitter’s own Bio Generator to describe yourself in an effective way for this medium And, whatever it takes to provide a good photo of yourself as you want to be seen, particularly if you’re on the hunt for a job or clients The bio and photo should reinforce your persona, which I talk about in the preceding tip Listen to Your Target Audiences Just as you hesitate to plunge into a party conversation before listening to what’s already going on, take time to acquaint yourself with what people of interest to you are saying to each other on Twitter Notice the tone of the conversation as well as the content Look for niches with which you’re comfortable – questions you can answer, for example, or a subject you can productively comment upon When you become part of a good exchange, keep it going If you can build relationships tweet by tweet, you’re successful Aim to Be Useful Never waste those 140 characters on trivialities that only your mother, perhaps, finds interesting Share substance: news, ideas, tips based on your expertise, insights into events, a snippet from a good lecture you heard, links to something of interest, re-tweets of other people’s messages you find worthwhile and believe others will appreciate Some experienced Twitter users send such re-Tweets out once every three or so tweets, but invent your own guidelines Whether to use Twitter’s re-tweet feature to send your own messages out multiple times is more complicated The premise is that you capture a different audience each time, but you also risk annoying your audience Remember that valued tweets are not necessarily about you M ine your knowledge base, observe the conversations underway, stay up-to-date with your field, or with the world Alltop.com is a good resource to keep current with what's happening Avoid Blatant Self-Promotion Don’t sound like you’re selling something It’s fine to call attention to a new blog post, event, workshop, article, book, product, or service improvement But resist the temptation to promote yourself or your organization every time you tweet You’ll quickly be discounted as a self-seeker, contrary to the best spirit of the web and of Twitter Some savvy tweeters follow a rule of thumb: self-promote one out of four times, max That said, you cannot always predict what information may be welcomed When you travel, for example, tweeting your location can draw useful advice and suggestions And people may appreciate knowing where you are I know more than one case in which a traveller tweeted from a remote location where the unexpected took place, and he was recruited as an on-site reporter and photographer for major media Use Twitter for Surveys and Questions Big companies are looking to Twitter to accomplish research that would otherwise be very expensive, and you can that too Never before has soliciting opinions and knowledge been so quick, easy and cheap Surveys and crowdsourcing are great ways to use the medium Want to test-run your new website copy? Or a contest idea? Invite your network to visit your site and comment Need an idea for employee recognition? Or advice on which logo to adopt? Put out the word You can also ask your followers for resources and information when you want input But don’t ask questions you can easily answer yourself with Google’s help, or request advice so often that you bore people Write Tweets as the Ultimate Self-Edit Test Writing well in 140 characters isn’t easy, but authors are starting to write stories one tweet at a time, chefs are writing recipes to that character count, and employers are writing job descriptions on Twitter A good tweet usually requires good editing Drill down to your message’s core and then express that in the most economical way you can But don’t edit out the life and color – work to focus your meaning and limit its scope Experienced tweeters limit themselves to 120 characters to allow for easy re-tweeting Use bitly.com to reduce the space needed to communicate links and URLs As for abbreviations, what can I say? They're inevitable But aim to be easily understood Tweet at Optimal Times Would you believe, studies have already been done on how to tweet in tune with your personal biological clock and likely reaction from recipients? Tweeting early in the day, like or a.m., is most likely to produce upbeat enthusiastic messages, according to a two-year study conducted by Twitter itself and published in the magazine Science That’s on weekdays – on weekends, cheeriness peaks a bit later So you’re likely to tweet in an upbeat manner in the morning, and also, to read positive tweets from other people then Tweets are most likely to be re-tweeted when posted between and p.m because people are tired then and prefer relying on other people’s tweets That comes from a HubSpot study And at 10 and 11 p.m., people tend to send more emotional tweets, according to the Twitter study authors, so you may want to avoid tweeting when you’re tired Of course, you can write all your tweets when you’re in a good mood, according to your personal biological clock, and use a social media distribution service to feed them out over the day Treat Twitter as a Serious Job-Hunting Tool A growing number of employers use Twitter as a recruitment tool They find it cheaper, quicker, and more selective than traditional methods Some regularly follow Twitter conversations that relate to their industries, watching for people with good judgment, expertise, and best of all, a following that indicates they are respected Others place employment ads on Twitter (to find out how to uncover these posts, and many additional in-depth insights, get hold of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies by Joshua Waldman) If you’re in job-search mode, take special care to create good, useful, steady tweets that show off your best persona Actively use Twitter along with other social media to showcase how conversant you are with these tools, because this know-how is a plus for many jobs these days You may need to hone your tweet-skills to supply your résumé in this mini-format And check out Vine, Twitter's six-second video app program (vine.co or vine.twitter.com) Anecdotes about brilliant use of this format to score great jobs are tantalizing About the Author Natalie Canavor is a nationally known expert on business writing whose mission is to help people communicate better so they can get what they want—whether that means a job, a promotion or a successful business She has earned her living as a national magazine editor, business writer, communications consultant and public relations director, winning more than 100 national and international awards along the way At every step she noticed that in the business, nonprofit and government worlds alike, good writers are valued and rewarded But ineffective communicators often miss their best opportunities and fall short of their career dreams Today, Natalie creates practical writing workshops for businesspeople, writers and professionals in every walk of life She uses a learning framework based on what works Her unconventional approach meshes the best strategies from many writing venues: feature articles and columns, video scripts, websites, presentations, print and online marketing materials and copywriting She finds that given a planning structure and set of down-to-earth techniques, most people can dramatically improve their own writing Natalie is the author of Business Writing in the Digital Age (Sage Publications), a textbook for advanced and graduate-level students of business and public relations And with Claire M eirowitz, she co-authored The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing (Financial Times Press), a quick guide to better writing She is also an adjunct professor at NYU, where she leads advanced writing seminars for M aster’s degree candidates in public relations and corporate communications For five years she wrote a column on professional writing techniques for the International Association of Business Communicators Natalie is happy to consult with organizations that see the value of raising the bar on writing, and travels to present custom workshops for businesses, associations and other groups Find her at: Natalie@businesswritingnow.com Publisher’s Acknowledgements We're proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S at (001) 317-572-3993, or fax 317-5724002 Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites Project Editor: Jo Jones Commissioning Editor: Claire Ruston Assistant Editor: Ben Kemble Development Editors: Brian Kramer Technical Reviewer: Pamela Jones Proofreader: M elanie Assinder-Smith Production Manager: Daniel M ersey Publisher: M iles Kendall Cover Photos: ©iStockphoto.com/shironosov Composition Services S r Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees Layout and Graphics: Jennifer Creasey, Joyce Haughey, Jennifer M ayberry Proofreaders: Lindsay Amones, Jessica Kramer, Susan M oritz Indexer: Steve Rath Special Help Brand Reviewer: Carrie Burchfield To access the cheat sheet specifically for this book, go to www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/businesswritinguk Find out "HOW" at Dummies.com Take Dummies with you everywhere you go! Go to our Website Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Watch us on YouTube Join us on LinkedIn Pin us on Pinterest Circle us on google+ Subscribe to our newsletter Create your own Dummies book cover Shop Online ... ISBN 97 8-1 -1 1 8-5 836 4-7 (pbk); ISBN 97 8-1 -1 1 8-5 836 1-6 (ebk); ISBN 97 8-1 -1 1 8-5 836 2-3 (ebk); ISBN 97 8-1 -1 1 8-5 836 3-0 (ebk) Printed in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall 10 Business. .. own writing improvement guide Part II: Putting Your Skills to Work for Everyday Business Writing Chapter 6: Writing Emails That Get Results Fast-Forwarding Your Agenda In-House and Out-of-House... report Drafting the report Fast-tracking Yourself through Proposals Writing formal proposals Writing informal proposals Creating Business Plans Writing Tips for All Business Documents Finding the