Page 50 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

Writing across generations – for colleagues as well as clients 39

CASE STUDY Bringing people along on the journey

Here’s a real-life e-mail exchange from a boss in a major international
company to a junior member of staff, recruited a couple of months
before.

Boss: ‘So, how’s it going? What’s the dream?’

Employee: ‘To have lots of data.’
Boss: ‘Oh, that sounds like a nightmare to me. What are you going to
do with the data?’
Employee: ‘That’s a tricky one. I’m going to have to go away and
think about that.’

The very next week she e-mailed over:

‘I’ve analysed the data so far and we need to drive results in...’ (she
then highlighted a specific area).
She had cut through the noise, as requested, to deliver positive action.

She was pleased and her boss was pleased. The communication
exchange had worked for both. The boss had motivated the employee
by highlighting her expertise, admitting that was not his skillset. He
guided her by highlighting how to focus. He needed data not just to
produce information but to gain knowledge on which to build results.
Together they delivered. That’s how you bring people along on the
journey via writing effectively.

When you’re the boss, writing brings
extra challenges!

Accessible, inclusive language that says the right things brings peo-
ple on board, as we saw in the Nationwide case study. Time after