Page 87 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

76 How to Write Effective Business English

the fact that multicultural teams may also be found in your home
workplace. My advice will help here too.
In outline, it’s true to say that a typical Western style of writing
comes over as structured and fairly direct (that said, you may still
encounter waffle: lots of words with no clear purpose!).
If we look at Asian cultures, we can find extremely polite, for-
mal, self-effacing communication. It can be considered bad style
to get to the point too quickly and rude to make points too di-
rectly. Such cultures are likely to have a stronger focus on intro-
duction, setting a respectful tone, developing rapport, only then
ending on the main points (which they may imply rather than
express).
Do address the cultural writing style needed for each task. One
size won’t fit all.

Do your words say what you think they say?

Have you ever had to explain to readers: ‘Oh, I didn’t mean that’?
If so, you won’t be alone.
That’s why major UK companies and government agencies,
as well as smaller players, all call me in as a troubleshooter to
check over their business writing for native readers too! Are
their words (to internal and external customers, suppliers and
in technical documents, etc) really saying what they want them
to say? It’s not just a plain English issue: it’s also about adopt-
ing the right frame of mind to make the right connections with
readers. Stand back – and see your writing from all angles. An
undoubtedly well-intentioned writer in Australia didn’t do this
when advertising literacy classes, as the text of this poster
shows:
Are you an adult that cannot read? If so, we can help you.

The moment you say ‘I didn’t mean that!’ is the moment you real-
ize that no, your writing isn’t saying what you meant.