Got a good business idea? Here’s how to get your message across
Stephen Humphreys is the General Manager UK and Ireland at e-learning specialists, GoodHabitz – here he shares his advice for improving business writing skills
Getting ahead as a business owner means being able to get your ideas and perspectives across really succinctly to get people’s buy in. Doing that verbally may be easy, but when it comes to writing with influence, or simply writing to engage people around a new idea, things get trickier.
Many people who are otherwise good verbal communicators can struggle to get their message across and this is especially common in business. They find it difficult to organise their thoughts coherently in a written form and write with impact. Producing reports, proposals and emails takes far longer than it should and either the message gets lost or the language becomes overly convoluted or technical. This article outlines how everyone can become an effective workplace writer.
Firstly, understand that writers are not simply born. It is a talent but writing well in business especially can be learned with a bit of determination and plenty of practice. Neuroscientists have discovered that one reason behind this fact is because writing uses a part of the brain that needs regular ‘exercise’. People who write a lot think differently to less practiced people, just like experienced pianists effortlessly play with both hands. They use a part of the brain known as the caudate nucleus, which helps to convert complex actions into routine behaviours. It doesn’t come easily at first, but actually almost everyone has the ability to master writing, once they understand the building blocks, follow some basic principles and practice.
Cook up engaging food for thought
In addition to piano playing, there are parallels between writing and cooking, starting with who going to be eating your ‘food’ – the audience. How are you going to reach them? Start by putting ideas down and not specifically trying to begin in a structured way. One model to approach is the 40:20:40 rule – spend 40% of the time on research and preparation to interest your reader, 20% actually writing and the remainder perfecting and editing your piece. During the preparation stage, think carefully about 2 things – the brief and what you need to write and who the audience is. Write with them in mind and if that’s made easier with a visual aide, use a photo of whoever they are.
Argue, entertain or tell a story
Be clear about the purpose of the text. Is it to entertain? To inform or persuade? An informative piece won’t require an alternative argument, but a persuasive text will need to present clear supporting evidence to help influence the reader. Contrast this with an opinion piece where the writer is just sharing his or her beliefs, without expecting the reader to act in a particular way. Or maybe the writing is just intended as a narrative, to entertain. Many brands have adopted a storytelling approach, to help raise awareness about their origins and values and in doing so, develop a distinctive identity and following.
Plan for short attention spans
Returning to the central message, make sure this isn’t lost in overly convoluted, flowery language. Stick to the point and tell the reader about the key message or question being answered upfront. Most people have very short attention spans and a Norman Nielsen Group study verifies this, highlighting that on average, we only read 28% of any text
Avoid Guff and ‘B£%%£ *$@ Bingo’
Business writing in particular can be guilty of over complicating what may actually be quite a simple idea – with buzz words and jargon. It’s always best to avoid mentioning ‘paradigm shifts’, ‘strategic imperatives’ and ‘homogenisations’, keeping things simple, easy to understand and devoid of nonsensical waffle. FT writer Lucy Kellaway used to produce a brilliant ‘Guffipedia’ and refers to C-level execs who favour this way of communicating as “Chief Obfuscation Officers”. Plus apart from boring your audience, 1 in 6 people have difficulties reading and possibly because English is not their first language – and 10% of the population has dyslexia. Business writers would do well to adopt the same approach to avoid losing the message they want to deliver.
Learn to focus
Distraction can be a major problem for all writers, especially in a business environment when emails keep flying in. Trying to write on a proposal is difficult and requires deep concentration. Using techniques like the ‘Pomodoro Method’ can really help will help with productivity problems and all you need is a phone. Set the clock timer to 25 minutes and focus only on writing. Nothing else. When the timer stops, have a 5 minute break and then get back to work again. After 4 sessions of 25 minutes have a 15 minute break. In time you will be able to focus more easily on all tasks for longer periods and writing will also come more easily.
Whatever you need to write and for whichever audience, the best way to improve your skills is to get cracking. As with almost everything in life, success is only about 5% talent and the rest is just practice.
