Business Writing Tips: Update Your Writing!

I am writing to thank you for reading this blog. Is this an acceptable business sentence? Today’s business writing needs to be concise because people are too busy to read unnecessary words. How would you change this sentence to make it more concise?

Why do we use extra words when we write? Think back to school—remember minimum word counts? If we had a 500-word essay due, why not use make a decision rather than decide? We learned some bad habits—for business writing. Length was rewarded in school, but it’s not needed in business. Here are four concise writing tips:

The first sentence of this blog is an example of a long lead-in. It’s a hard habit to break: This letter is to tell you that… or I just wanted to let you know that… Sometimes the words before that are unnecessary. You can eliminate introductory phrases, although some people think sentences sound too curt without these lead-ins. Perhaps--although maybe we’re just not used to it. Try it; let me know what you think.

Redundant words--two words commonly used together that have the same meaning--are funny, if you think about it. Advanced notice and advanced warning—notices and warnings are given in advance. Some other redundant expressions are final outcome, exactly identical, combined together, and true facts. Know any others?

Some verbs are disguised as nouns; remember the example to increase the word count—make a decision? Often, we create nouns from verbs; for example, decide, calculate, and discuss become make a decision, make a calculation, and have a discussion. Using the verb makes our writing stronger, easier to understand.

Wordy expressions can often be reduced to one word; using the one-word counterpart can update your writing skills. Do you use any of these phrases?

Due to the fact that = because
Are of the opinion = believe
At this point in time = now
In the amount of = for
On a monthly basis = monthly

Revise your writing to be concise. William Zinsser, author of several writing books—including On Writing Well, says: “Be grateful for every word you can cut. Writing improves in direct ratio to the things we can keep out of it that shouldn't be there.”

Revising and Proofreading

Experts agree that editing is the key to good writing. Do you take the time to review your document? Proofread it for errors, and review it for conciseness and clarity. Can you use fewer words to make your point? Can you rearrange paragraphs or words to make it easier to understand, more logical?

Revising and proofreading are two different processes. Revising is improving the content for clarity, conciseness, and readability, whereas proofreading is creating copy that is 100 percent accurate. Experts recommend to revise first, and then proofread.

Are you a good proofreader? Typically, people who read slowly are good proofreaders because they don’t skip words. Place a piece of paper or ruler under the line you’re reading to force yourself to slow down. Give yourself plenty of time to review your document; otherwise, you’ll rush through it.

Most of us don’t like to proofread because it’s boring. Set your document aside for at least 24 hours. That way, you’ll be reading it with a fresh set of eyes.

Because editing is a way to become a better writer, be sure to take the time to review your documents before they are sent or distributed. Professionalism in written documents includes accuracy and easy-to-read, understandable content.

Some excellent resources for better business writing are Essentials of Business Communication by Mary Ellen Guffey (South-Western Cengage Learning, 2010), Why Business People Speak Like Idiots by Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, and Jon Warshawsky (Free Press, 2005), and The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing by Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz (Pearson Education, Inc., 2010).

Proofreading Tips

The countdown to the BEE has started! The 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee website has the countdown clock displayed on its home page; the annual competition is being held June 2 -4 with 274 spellers, ranging from 8 to 15 years old. Did you see the boy who fainted during the 2004 National Spelling Bee and then stood up to successfully spell his word? If you missed it, check out the YouTube video. Amazing!

These spellers are always welcome in my classes. They would never be guilty of the misspellings I’ve seen: fananimal [phenomenal], unfourtnatly [unfortunately], and rein burst [reimbursed], just to name a few.

Didn’t they see the red zigzagged underline that tells them the word is misspelled? While phenomenal is a difficult word to spell, I’m not sure what happened with fananimal. Laziness? Unfourtnatly was handwritten. Rein and burst are words in the electronic dictionary. (Yes, it was spelled as two words because that’s the first option for AutoCorrect, if you spell reimbursed as reinburst. Too bad—the correct spelling of reimbursed is the second option in AutoCorrect.)

I’m horrified when I send a document with a typo! Proofreading seems to be a lost “art,” especially with our hurried communications—e-mail, texting, etc. So, here are some tips for proofreading:

Turn on spell checker. While spell checker may not identify all typos, it’ll help.

Read out loud. Spell checker will not find words that are mistyped if it’s a legitimate word. Reading out loud helps us to find mistakes that we typically don’t see when we silently proofread.

Assume you’ll find errors. Many of us tend to read the copy the way we intended it to be. If you’re actually looking for errors, you may find them.

Add frequently used proper nouns to the electronic dictionary. Be sure to spell the person’s name correctly; then you’ll know it’s spelled incorrectly when the red zigzagged underline appears. (Right-click the name, and select Add to Dictionary.)

Use the Find command to identify common typing errors. Some of us mistype words (form for from, you for your, etc.) can be easily spotted if you use the Find command to help you proofread.

• Press Ctrl+F

• Type the mistyped word in the Find what textbox (for example, form)

• Press Enter.

Word will find each occurrence of the word; then, you can determine if the word (form) is used properly. Continue to press Enter until the dialog box displays, Word has finished searching the document. Press Enter to close the dialog box; then click Cancel to close the Find and Replace dialog box.

Would you like to share some of the spelling errors you’ve seen?

Outlook Sticky Notes

April 22 is Earth Day, and one way to be more eco-friendly is to use fewer sticky notes. Even though I love Post-it® notes, I use too many of them and then can’t keep track of all of my reminders. Outlook has the solution! The Notes module has electronic sticky notes to write reminder messages.

Do you have too many notes? Can’t find your reminder when you need it? Outlook Notes has a search feature to help you quickly find the one you’re looking for.

Can you quickly change the size of your sticky note if you run out of room while you’re writing? No, you have to use another sticky note! Not so with Outlook Notes.

Creating Electronic Sticky Notes

• Use the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+N) from any Outlook module.
• Type the reminder message.
• Press ESC key.
• To view e-notes in the Notes module, select Go | Notes from the menu bar, or use the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+5).
• You may also drag a copy of your e-note(s) to your Windows desktop.

Would you like your e-note to be part of your to-do list? It’s easy; drag the e-note to the Tasks button in the Navigation Pane. (Your original e-note stays in the Notes module, too.) A Task dialog box opens; add a due date and a reminder. Then, save the task.

To search for a particular e-note, click in the Search Notes text box (Outlook 2007). (For Outlook 2003 if you don’t see the Look for text box, press Ctrl+E.) Type the text you’re searching for, and press Enter.

To delete an e-note, right-click the note and select Delete.

Enjoy your spring, go green, and use electronic sticky notes!

National Grammar Day

Thursday, March 4, is National Grammar Day! I’m going to celebrate by wearing my “I’ve Got a Preposition for You” T-shirt. (I bought it from Grammar Girl.)

When I told my business communication class about the “holiday,” one of my students said he’s not going to speak that day. A gentleman in England will not stand in the “five items or less” line at the grocery store because the sign should read “five items or fewer,” although he does that every day, not just for Grammar Day.

Are you familiar with “Headlines,” a Monday night “Tonight Show” feature with Jay Leno? People send newspaper and magazine clippings that have grammar and spelling errors to Jay. Two of my favorites include “Chance of rain, possibly mixing with some wet snot” and “Add a bottle of out house wine for an additional $12.99.” Yikes! One letter can change the meaning of the sentence! Even copy editors don’t get it right all the time.


So, let’s go back to 3rd grade for a grammar review; today’s lesson is pronouns. As I tell my students, “Just because it sounds right, doesn’t mean it is right. People say things wrong all the time!”

Possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes. The possessive pronoun its is often used incorrectly; many professional signs confuse the possessive pronoun and the contraction. It’s is a contraction for it is. Its is the possessive pronoun. It’s wonderful that grammar has its own day.

Pronouns need to agree in number with their antecedents (the words to which they refer, which are generally the subjects). For example, an employee has the right to see their file is not correct. Employee is a single subject [the antecedent]; their is a plural pronoun. Make the subject plural as well as the verb to correct the sentence: Employees have the right to see their files.

Singular pronouns are used when referring to an organization or department, as long as the group is acting as a single unit. For example, Jones, Smith, and Doe, Inc., is having its [not their] company picnic in July. The marketing department won its [not their] volleyball tournament.

When subjects are joined by or or nor, the pronoun agrees with the subject that comes after the conjunction [or or nor]. Here’s an example: Neither Stacy nor Jim wanted his desk moved. Many people think this statement should be written as Neither Stacy nor Jim wanted their desks moved. Because Jim is closest to the pronoun, you need to use a singular pronoun.

Enjoy National Grammar Day! My mom, Flo, would have loved this day; she was a true grammarian. What will you do to celebrate Grammar Day?

Delivering the Presentation

Keyboard shortcuts are helpful when you’re delivering a presentation:

F5 (the function key) starts the slide presentation.

B toggles to a black screen and then back to the presentation. (Eliminate the visual so the audience focuses on you, especially when you're answering a question that's not related to the current slide or you’re starting your presentation but the slides aren’t part of the introduction.)

W toggles to a white screen and then back to the presentation.

N advances to the next slide (same as pressing ENTER key or clicking the Left mouse button).

P moves back to the previous slide.

HOME key goes to the first slide of the presentation.

END key goes to the last slide of the presentation.

Ctrl+S displays a menu of slides in the program; type the number of the slide to go to and press ENTER. Or, if you know the slide number; type it and press ENTER without using Ctrl+S.

ESC key ends the presentation.

TAB key moves to all hyperlinks on slide; then, press ENTER to select.

Just Say No to PowerPoint?

Next week, February 7 – 13, is “Just Say No to PowerPoint” week. Really? Say no to PowerPoint? Is it PowerPoint’s fault if a presentation is lousy?

While some presenters use the slide deck as their cue cards, the slides are for the audience, not the presenter. Text competes with your message because people are reading the slide or writing down everything on the slide while you’re speaking. So, is the audience really listening to what you’re saying?

Images, on the other hand, help reinforce and complement your message. Having pictures and possibly a “headline” that relates to your topic is recommended. Be sure to use professional photo images; iStockphoto (www.iStockphoto.com) is a first-rate resource for images. Two excellent books on this subject are Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds and Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson.

To create a more engaging slide deck, use the Title and Content slide layout:

• Click the Layout button (located on the Home tab in the Slides group—version 2007). Or, select Format Slide Layout from the menu bar in version 2003.
• Select the Title and Content slide layout.
• Click the Insert Picture from File icon.
• Locate the image file and double-click the filename.
• Resize the image.
• Click the title placeholder (“Click to add title”)
• Type the text/title.