Page 49 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

38 How to Write Effective Business English

Imagine for example, a manager has asked an employee how
they plan to write up the minutes of a meeting held earlier that day.
The employee e-mails back:

‘I’ll be recording what everyone says and then writing this up
afterwards, for circulation to all who attended. I hope you find
this helpful.’

That’s certainly concise writing but it’s not effective. How much
more helpful to the manager would be a considered, structured
response along the lines:
‘I propose to:

● ● write up all material points;
● ● indicate what items were closed (needing no further action);

● ● indicate what actions are ongoing, and who does what, when;
● ● write an action plan and ensure everyone who needs to know
does – which may be more than just the people who attended
the meeting.’
Understand your strengths in thinking through the brief; your
ideas, your disruptiveness (in the sense of innovating change for
the better!) and write with structured points aimed at producing a
good end result. It’s a habit you can easily slip into.
On a practical writing level, too many exclamation marks and
emojis may not go down too well, even if the organization sees this
as acceptable amongst peers. Different emojis work better for some
cultures than others, and do be aware that some colleagues or
clients (for example some people on the autism spectrum) may
struggle to identify expressions in emojis. The right words work far
better for them.
Also, some cultures and organizations will actually see emojis as
entirely off limits. Check what’s acceptable where you work or
plan to work.
Very importantly, never forget that respectful language pays
dividends across all scenarios.