Page 17 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

6 How to Write Effective Business English

Activity: Each time you write, first ask yourself:

● ● Why am I writing?
● ● What are my/my company’s values and objectives?
● ● Do I have a definite or outline profile for my target audience?

● ● What are their values and needs?
● ● How will I align my message(s)?
● ● What style, vocabulary (and medium, where you have a
choice) are likely to suit them best?

● ● How can I project my company’s ‘personality’ and create an
opportunity to shine myself?

Your writing won’t work if you don’t first plan what you need to
achieve!

Readers take just a few seconds

to judge your writing

The written word is unforgiving. When I read, I judge what I see
written for what it is. If I’m seeking products or services, what I see
can be what I think I get. If it is your writing, I’ll judge both you as
an individual and your company on the basis of how you expressed
yourself at that point in time. That’s how important writing is.
It’s commercial folly that many written messages lead to confu-
sion and misunderstanding – even when a company is writing in its
native language. Poor writing can also lead to customer complaints.
And the worst scenarios are where customers walk away from the
companies concerned, and tell others about the bad experience they
have received or think they have received. That’s the impact that
ineffective writing can have. It becomes quite clear that if, as cus-
tomers, we don’t understand or like what supplier A is writing, we
prefer to buy from supplier B, who cares enough about our needs to
get the message right. And if this takes less time, so much the better.