Page 47 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

36 How to Write Effective Business English

adhered to. And don’t forget, upcoming generations won’t be
expecting (or even wait?) to hear from you in three weeks’ time
when three hours can seem ages to them! Ditch the procrastination:
speedy e-mails or instant messaging fit the bill here.
Effective writing also congratulates them if they succeed, and
definitely thanks them for their interest even if they don’t. Sounds
obvious? I’m pleased you think so. Just make sure your organiza-
tion complies. It really can set you apart for all the right reasons.

Use word power to develop your
career and get the results you need

Mid-career and onwards is a time to ensure your business writing
doesn’t lose its vitality to sell your messages, whatever your busi-
ness is. Keep up the momentum to propel your career forward.
Step 3 in the writing system I show in Chapter 2 comes into its
own right now. Carefully chosen and powerful words don’t just
sell products or services: they also sell the personalities behind
them. In turn they enable the desired responses from colleagues
and client base alike.
To give you an idea of powerful words that engage, energize and
persuade, in the box on the opposite page is a list of words that
delegates at my workshops consistently cite, with relish.
What words do you see as valuable power words in your chosen
career path? If you’re not currently using them, then why aren’t
you? Start now! Effective writing mid-career can very much be
about getting the right mix of blending in and making your mark,
to get noticed for the right reasons.
A word of caution: only use power words validly. A finance di-
rector in a major retail company who wrote an e-mail to his team
exclaiming ‘work is fun!’ found the reaction much less positive
than he expected. Such words may be right for employees in Silicon
Valley – but they just didn’t feel right for his audience. Another
director who e-mailed: ‘I’m fired up about this project! Let’s work
together to get it going’ got the team fully involved. Those words,
and that inclusivity, worked for them.