Business writing: how to write to communicate and connect

Writing is a fundamental skill in business.  But it terrifies many business people. 

Why?

They're afraid of the blank page.
They're afraid of grammar and punctuation which they believe are there to expose their weaknesses.
In short they're afraid of getting it wrong.

Let's look at what we're trying to achieve when we write.

Whether we're writing for business or we're would be novelists, our aim is to make some connection with our reader.  That's it plain and simple.  Because without that connection the reader won't turn the page.

That's essential in business isn't it.  And even if they won't turn the page, i.e. on a website, you still want them to keep reading.  Because and let's be honest here, you want in the short or long term to sell them something.

What motivates most business people is not merely the desire to make money, but to offer something you're passionate about.  Something that will help people lead happier, more fulfilled, healthier, richer lives.

That's why passion is the key to connecting.

Imagine you want to buy something.  Who are you more likely to buy from?  Someone who just mumbles and mutters and shows no enthusiasm.  Or someone who looks you in the eyes and tells you honestly what the product can, and as important, can't do.

So you need to drill down to the reasons you want to pass on this product or service.  What do you believe about it that you can transmit in what you say or write?

Be proud of what you're offering.  Be passionate about how it can help people.  Always write as if you're speaking directly to one person at a time because only one will read it at a time.

When you write from that core of belief, your writing will sing and connect with those it can help.

Let me know what's happened to you when you've written from your core beliefs instead of writing from the surface.

How to write for your business;fast and to the point

'The amateur worries about what he is going to put into his speech. The expert worries about what he should take out.' Edgar Dale



Talking to other writers at a networking event, we were swopping writing exercises we'd found useful. The timed exercise is a favourite, as is the unexpected subject. all of these are designed to stimulate your creativity without you having chance to censor your thoughts.



One of my favourite exercises is where you limit the number of words you write. If you really want to challenge yourself then try limiting time and word count.



For business writing in particular this is a valuable discipline because you never know when you might be asked for a 500 word article or a 150 word press release for a tight deadline. And of course you could practise these and have them in your back pocket ready for just such an occasion.


If you love your business, are proud of what you provide as a product or service then you should have a pool of information you can draw on and edit to fit an particular angle or theme.


What writing to a word limit teaches you is to focus on key points you want your reader to know. The fewer words you have the more important each word becomes.


Tweeting can provide you with multiple occasions to exercise this talent with keyword rich, focused statements about what you offer.

Business writing;why it should be like looking at the bottom of a glass of water

'I've never met a human being who would want to read 17,000 pages of documentation, and if there was, I'd kill him to get him out of the gene pool.' Joseph Costello

I'm sitting in front of a brand new cooker, with a trout on a tray and a pudding(apple cake) in said oven which should be cooking.

In my hand I have the instruction manual and I'm checking(for the third time) the symbols, the instructions and the recipe book which came with the oven.

In the end I admitted defeat and finished off my meal in the microwave, which was okay but not what I had in mind.

When finally, after a visit from an engineer we discovered the clock has to be set... before the cooker will work I felt very stupid.

But in my defence, nowhere in the instruction manual did it say so. And the engineer did agree that it caught out a lot of people.

Yet again it confirmed my suspicions that instruction manuals are written by people who understand how to do what the manual is about and they don't think of starting from the beginning.

While this is vital for manuals, it's also something to keep in mind whenever you write for business because jargon, assumptions and dense text are dangerous if you want to connect with the reader.

As writers we're complacent at our peril. In a workshop I headed up, a 300 word newspaper article that was clear to me, was criticised by most of the group for being dense, boring and too long to wade through. Even though the subject was of interest to them all, it hadn't captured their attention well enough to make them persist to the end.

Always we should be thinking about our writing:

1. Is it clear?
2. Is it to the point?
3. Is it relevant?

Whatever you write won't interest everyone but if the writing ticks those 3 boxes then it stands a better chance of not being tossed(literally or metaphorically) in the bin

Business writing for results-key points

Key Point Summary From The Writer's Little Book of... Business Writing for Results (for more details about publication go to www.writerslittlebook.co.uk

Knowing what you want to achieve with your writing increases your chances of achieving it.
Remember this at all times when you write. Only one person will read your piece at a time
Keeping your radar tuned for opportunities for writing will pay results.
What do you want your writing to do for you?
Feature + that means for you = benefit
Time spent researching the market to find the gap is never wasted.
Does the title of your blog entry, or article or book create curiosity in your reader?
Writing for your website is simply another medium for marketing your business.
There’s always something you can do to move your writing on.
80% of the most effective writing relies on thorough editing. Never believe that your first effort will do the job – it won’t.
Use your blog as part of your complete marketing strategy and over time it will pay off for your business.
Tweeting may seem like a waste of time but it can have a power beyond what you can imagine.
Positioning yourself as an expert in your field produces opportunities to build your business profile
Writing has one purpose and one purpose only. To transmit the ideas, thoughts and knowledge of the writer across to the reader.
Matching your reader’s language can make life easier for you.
Clear layout can increase the chances of your reader understanding your text and responding to it.
Subheads make your case fast.
Headlines are your ad for your piece of text.
Having a system for your writing projects means you’re more likely to achieve your aim and less likely to miss out something important.
Clear notes are the key to efficient writing.
Writing business proposals that connect to your reader’s needs increases your chances of success.
Consider purpose of any report before you write it.
Minutes should be impartial and a factual record of events.
Always angle the text to what interests the reader not what interests you.
Expanding your ideas about what a book is will give you the key to how you can write a successful one.
Keep your sentences simple.
Making friends with grammar gives you freedom in writing.

And finally, enjoy your writing!

How to beat the blank page

Here is a way to take the terror out of starting to write.

BLASTING THE BLANK PAGE BOGEY OUT OF YOUR LIFE 4

Make a list of all the things you know about your subject. Now choose 2 and imagine you’re talking to someone about them. What would you say? Write down how you’d introduce the topic to them if they began with zero knowledge.

KEY POINT

There’s always something you can do to move your writing on.

This is just one of the techniques, tips and strategies to improve your business writing that you'll find in my soon to be published Writer's Little Book of Business Writing for Results.

email me for more details: eileen@writerslittlebook.co.uk

Writing for business

a recommended book. Victor Schwab How to write a good advertisement helped me when I first started.