Page 31 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

20 How to Write Effective Business English

● ● Avoid words that put up barriers, and avoid unnecessary jargon.
● ● Instead choose words that convey a virtual handshake, to pull
people towards you.

Use your written words to satisfy and, if possible, delight your cus-
tomers.

Your checklist for action

● ● Realize that your readers and customers are likely to have a
negative impression of or even reject ineffective writing.

● ● Evaluate feedback on your writing. You can do this simply by
checking your answers to questions such as the following:

● When you send an e-mail or other message, do people often
●
not bother to read it?
● Do you have to send out the same message more than once to
●
get the reply you need?
● Do people ever congratulate you or complain about the tone
●
of your message?
● Are your letters, reports, e-mails or other messages
●
significantly longer than those of your colleagues? If so, why
is that?
● When you receive new details, do you always update people
●
who need to know?
● ● Understand the differences between academic writing and
business English writing.
● ● Remember business writing is results-focused and tending to
become more informal, adopting much of the style of e-writing
where material is presented in bite-sized chunks.
● ● Be prepared to unlearn some of the rules you may have learnt at
school – or now think up some useful ones you weren’t taught!