5 Easy Ways to Upgrade your Business Writing Skills

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Taking a Business Communication course to improve your business writing skills is a fantastic idea. Don’t despair, however, when you need some quick pointers – now!

Start with the aim of educating yourself on principles of effective communication. At the heart of great business content lies effective communication. When you are clear on what makes your message effective, you craft messages effortlessly.

Here are five easy ways to up skill your business writing skills, quickly and dramatically.

1. Be Clear on Who You are Writing For

target audienceThe first thing to think about is this; who is your audience?

Are you writing a report for your boss? Are you writing minutes of the meeting for all the attendees (your colleagues) as well as your supervisor? Are you creating a presentation for your prospective clients? Are you writing a resume for a recruitment agency?

When you know your audience, you can write with confidence knowing you are giving them exactly what they need. You are aware of their expectations, and you allow your writing to reflect that.

2. Establish the Purpose of your Writing

When you know exactly ‘why’ you are writing and what you want to accomplish through it, you not only achieve clarity of thought, you also set boundaries.

Streamlining the purpose of a piece means that you stay on topic; you keep your message relevant, without making it unnecessarily wordy.

I have a great tip for you to stay on track. Try to answer this question: What is the point of your message? In one sentence only.

If you are not able to do that, you are probably not clear on your message.

For example, I am writing this report because the admissions to our course have jumped up this past semester and I wish to propose running a mid year intake.

That’s it. Don’t deviate from your core message.

3. Adhere to the Standard Structure

Guess what, writing a business letter or a blog post is not same as writing an email. An email is informal, often short and written in a friendly manner. A letter is usually more formal and detailed, while a blog post useful and informative.

Writing a report is not like writing a presentation, either.

It pays to learn about the different formats and expectations of these documents, so your work always appears professional.

When you start writing, it is a great idea to develop and outline first. Organize your ideas roughly and insert them in the outline, especially when your document is longer like annual report. Now you have something to work with.

4. Make your Writing Clear, Complete and Concise

When you are clear on your purpose, you already have the biggest obstacle out of the way. Now is the time to continue this clarity in your prose.

Choose the right words, avoid jargon when you can and use familiar language. Substitute short words for longer words when you can. Keep your paragraphs short.

Your writing is complete when it contains everything your reader needs to know, to act on your call of action.

Your reader only has access to your words, not your thoughts, so make sure you make every thought clear.

5. Edit and Proofread

Proof ReadWhen you are working on a document, your brain gets used to seeing the words on the page. Sometimes, you miss typos as your brain is filling in the blanks even when the word is written incorrectly.

Here are few tips you can use to get is ready for final submission. They work really well.

  • Consider changing the font, size or even text color, while proofreading. It makes a huge difference
  • Read out loud to catch any inconsistencies in tone, voice and ambiguities.
  • When possible, give your writing a twenty four hour test before you consider submission. Meaning, give your mind (and eyes) a rest, before you read it for one last time.

By following all these steps, you will learn to recognize and avoid common mistakes in writing. And here’s a bonus tip for you: Perfect business writing services are also provided by Business.ThePensters. You can always try them out if you prefer having a professional do it for you.

Your work will become more powerful, persuasive and deliver information in a manner that is appreciated by the recipient.

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14 thoughts on “5 Easy Ways to Upgrade your Business Writing Skills”

  • Hi!

    This brief write up was well thought out! Kudos! It would be great if we know more about the guest author though. In general, when writing, there are a lot to think of and consider but this article have successfully pointed out the backbone to every writing process. There may be a lot of rituals a writer will do before he writes but in the end it all boils down to these 5 steps. My favorite part on this article is the fifth step-edit and proofread. I never considered changing fonts, sizes, or any of that when i proofread my writing piece. So, from this day on, i’ll sure to apply that! Looking forward for you to write more piece on effective writing.

    • Hi Chris,

      Thanks for the feedback. making the article look engaging really helps in getting the interest of our audience 🙂

  • Writing skills sure make a huge difference in terms of conveying or talking business. These tips in the post will influence the writing styles of the entrepreneurs and eventually building a trust factor with their prospective clients. I think I love the bit that is written about how to review the write up. I mean who else can be the better editor of your document other than yourself! Thanks for this unique content, it is very useful to the writers of all levels.

    • Most business owners hire freelance writers for their blogs but the truth is, we must be hands on when it comes to our blogs because it represents us. If we intend to hire writers, we should be the last person to read the article before it gets published.

  • Hi,

    I like the 24 hour test. Let the post simmer. Come back later, read it out loud, and make adjustments.

    I check titles, pouring over a series of ideas, before I publish a post. Work on your hook to improve your business prospects.

    Thanks!

    Ryan

    • That works all the time for me. hehe I always go back and edit my work is something comes up or if I feel like my article don’t have that “wow” factor

  • Proofreading & editing at required places is so essential that might ought the work easily! Well, for that matter one must acquire the chances of exact knowledge of the subject & submit some useful content making it easy for people to read!

  • Any writer should always make sure that they are already very well equipped with the basics. Which is why, I think that among the things that you’ve written above, it’s very important to edit and proofread. And of course, a writer should know how to correctly edit their work.

  • Great tips – Though the one that stands out to me is Proof reading – Sometimes only after publishing an article days afterwards you think of something you could’ve added or changed. Proofreading is a big part – and a good idea to give it to someone whom you trust to proofread as well. Especially if that person is in the same market but not one of your immediate competitors. Once again – you must trust this person.

  • Thank you Patrick.

    I took away a few great little tips from your post today. What stood out for me are the two following…
    “What is the point of your message? In one sentence only.”
    and…
    “Your reader only has access to your words, not your thoughts, so make sure you make every thought clear.”

    I will think about these two points next time I send an email to my list 🙂

    Declan.

  • This is the second article I’m reading for today and it’s yet another great one from Mr Guest.

    Whatever your writing skills and experience, you should always remember point 5, else one silly, uncorrected error throw your readers off. You may even need an editor.

  • The tips provided are very basic and useful indeed… The most important point is focus on the requirement and that will decide how accurately the subject is talked about or explained about… and ofcourse proofreading is a must because mistakes can take a toll on what you have written. Thanks for sharing this… 🙂

  • Hello Buddy,

    You have presented such a superb content and these 5 points are really more practical.

    I want to give some more points regarding writing:
    1. You can add bullets.
    2.Give Survey report in your post.
    3.Compare everything with your daily life happening that makes reading like playing a game.

    by the way, your points are really wonderful.

    Thank You for sharing knowledge with us. 🙂

  • Great post here. I always edit my content a few times or have someone else look over it for me, as it seems to never fail that I miss something multiple times.

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