It constantly amazes me that so-called professional writers use such poor English in their written communication. Now none of us are perfect however a few simple rules can at least help us look and hopefully become, a little more proficient in the way we communicate.
Tip one: When you use “and” in a sentence don’t use a comma next to it, it is redundant as “and” is a conjunction. I realize there are occasions where it can be correct however, in general terms it is best avoided.
Tip two: Never use the word “but” in your writing, for many, particularly older readers, it is just not considered a good writing habit. Had a copywriter/author friend on his retirement once say to me that he was proud of the fact that in his career he had never used “but” in his writing. As an alternative he did however use “however”, a much better choice.
Tip three: Don’t start a sentence with either “and” (or “but”), this alone will put you out in front of many less professional writers.
Tip four: Try to limit your sentences to a maximum of twenty five words. Long sentences can be confusing to many readers.
Tip five: Do not use capital letters for common nouns. The school, the company, or the city may be ours however none of these nouns need a capital. Even if you are talking about say, your “supervisor”, or company “director”, no capital is required unless you are writing in a situation where you are announcing his or her formal title.
Tip six: If you are going to use and acronym it must be explained the first time it is mentioned in your piece. An example could be; The company is undertaking a TQM project. The first mention should be …“Total Quality Management (TQM)” project.
Tip seven: Avoid jargon at all costs, it is arrogant and more importantly can be so confusing to the reader that the piece you are writing will lose all value.
Tip eight: Avoid clichés such as the one I used above, “at all costs”. These hackneyed old phrases are boring to your reader and smack of laziness on the part of the writer.
Tip nine: Don’t use a big word (three syllables) when a small one will do. It is worth doing some research on the web to understand the value of reducing your “smog index”. If you write as you speak you stand a better chance of being understood.
Tip ten: Present only one idea per paragraph and try to limit your paragraphs to four sentences.
Tip eleven: Put yourself last. You should not use the form, “me and the team”, it should always be; “the team and I”
Tip twelve: Now I am aware that my writing to some English purists is not perfect and in all likelihood neither will yours be. In the hurry to get information out we all take shortcuts and make mistakes. If you want more in depth information this site is a good start: www.alexcommunications.com/style_guide.htm.
I think it is mistake to take it all too seriously however, there are times you will need to write well to maintain your reputation.
Bonus tip: Capitalization in headings can be a problem and the rules and traditions of different countries vary greatly. To be on the safe side you should not use capitals for: articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, so) or the word ‘to’.
These better business writing tips will not make you a perfect writer however, they will go some way if adopted, to making your written pieces more legible and look more professional.
