Anne Wayman knows the way to my heart.

While I return to my beloved San Diego (and Anne’s home) for my 10th 60-mile, 3-Day Walk for the Cure, Anne offered a guest post.

And her topic?

Keeping business communication simple. See why I love Anne?

I’ll thank Anne in person. You can thank her with your Comments on another fabulous post.

Keeping Business Communications Simple

By Anne Wayman

I’m often asked to sort out business communications of one sort or another because they just aren’t working.

• Memos annoy people and are ignored
• People trying to follow instructions get hopelessly confused
• Letters are misunderstood
• That leads people to do the wrong thing – or nothing at all
• And email – ah email – is written in a hurry and leads to bad feelings between colleagues

I’m not sure, but I think something happens to many intelligent people when they sit down in front of a blank sheet of paper (or the look of one represented on-screen) and try to write for others.

My hunch is some bit of left-over school teacher is muttering in their ear encouraging them to (1) hurry and get it done, and (2) use big words and long sentences.

Good writing takes time

Actually, the first thing to ask is if what you’re planning to write really needs to be written at all.

A phone call, a video conference or a face-to-face meeting, even in the hall, can often solve all sorts of problems quicker than a misunderstood written communication.

It takes practice to write quickly and well – and until you learn how to do that through experience, you’ll be far better off, and so will your readers, if you set aside enough time.

How much time really depends on you and what you’re writing, but dashing off something, even an email, is asking for problems. Professional writers just don’t do that and neither should you – no matter what your profession is.

Keep it simple

Simple writing communicates best. That doesn’t mean simplistic.

Think for a moment exactly what it is you want to communicate. Think also about who you’re writing to or for, and consider just why you are writing.

It can really help to jot down a list of what needs to be included. If your list exceeds three or four items, you need to rethink it.

• What can be eliminated?
• What can be combined?

Keeping it simple often means keeping it short.

No one really likes to read onscreen, yet these days that’s where most reading takes place.

Sure, the piece needs to be long enough to convey what you want to convey, but no longer. But remember how your own eyes glaze over when an email or a letter gets too long.

Avoid long words and jargon whenever you can. Both confuses people who are not in the know – and even those who are will appreciate a direct approach they can read through quickly.

Read it out loud

Before you finalize any written communication, read it to yourself out loud. Okay, you may have to keep your voice down, but it’s absolutely amazing what your ears will hear that your eyes won’t see.

You know what you’re trying to say; you’ve written it down so don’t be surprised if you miss something because you’re expecting what you meant to say.

Hearing yourself read is a way to spot mistakes, find tangles that will confuse people, and reveal both what’s missing and what’s become verbose.

A wee bit of planning, a determination to keep it simple, and a willingness to hear how the piece sounds will go a long way toward making your writing say what you want it to say.

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Anne Wayman is a freelance writer and book ghostwriter. She blogs about writing at: AboutFreelanceWriting.com and her professional website is AnneWayman.com

 

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I am participating in my 10th 60-mile, 3-Day Walk for the Cure in San Diego. While my feet are slapping the pavement, my writer pals deliver great guest posts. Please give them lots of Comment love.

I return back to the blog the week of November 26 – just in time for Thanksgiving.