personal marketing: get your writing to add up

perhaps the most important personal marketing tool is your ability to communicate with your clients. that means you need to write clearly and effectively. fortunately, there are people out there who have dedicated their lives to helping you draft intelligent business papers. don’t be afraid to consult them, or their reference books, when you have doubts—as quickly as you would refer to the internal revenue code or gaap.

consider, as well, the following writing tips, especially when you are having a difficult time putting ink to paper. you can keep this section within reach for reference whenever you hit a writing roadblock.

tip no. 1: write a draft

if you find documents such as proposals, performance evaluations and engagement letters difficult to write, you may need a jump start. creating a first draft will give you something to work from. look at the clock and set a deadline for completion. don’t know where to begin? use one or more of the following suggestions:

• jot down an informal outline.
• begin anywhere with whatever part or information you feel comfortable with. there will be plenty of time to rearrange the parts later.
• dictate your first draft to a tape recorder: it will prove less intimidating than a blank screen.
• don’t stop to edit now. if you do, you’ll actually short-circuit your thinking.

Tip no. 2: Organize your material

The following steps will help you organize your first rough draft and all the materials you need to complete the document.

• Take time to sort out the mass of material you need to create the document. Make certain everything you need is at your fingertips.
• Identify your reader. Consider everything you know about the reader, including gender, age, knowledge of subject, need for details or just the bottom line attitude toward the subject and attitude toward you.
• Ask yourself "What is the most important point I’m trying to make?" Answer it by stating out loud or writing down the single purpose of your document. Avoid diluting the message by having two purposes. For example:

Vague: I am writing to give you information about the current status of your account.

Specific: I am writing to tell you your account balances.

Present the most important information right up front. If subject and purpose are not clear, start again.

Tip no. 3: Revise your first draft

Go back to determine if the subject of your document is clear. What is the most important thing you are trying to say? Showcase it in your opening.

• Adopt an appropriately professional tone. Eliminate any inflammatory language, words that may antagonize or alienate your audience, such as "I believe you are sadly mistaken about the facts." Sound positive on paper, not negative. For example:

Weak: If you do not send a check by April 15, we will be compelled to take legal action. (Here the company is viewed as the bad guy who’s taking action.)

Improved: To avoid legal action, send us your check by April 15. (Here the customer can manage the situation by taking action.)

• Use transitional words to link sentences and paragraphs and to give your document direction and flow. These words include however and furthermore and phrases like on the other hand, that is to say and in conclusion. They act as signposts alerting the reader to added information, a contrasting idea, a restatement, a summary or a conclusion.
• Choose precise words, not vague abstractions.

Weak: We will send out the corrected forms in the near future.

Improved: You’ll receive the corrected forms by November 30.

• Put sentence parts where they belong. Avoid dangling or squinting modifiers, where the word modified is unclear.

Weak: Being ignorant of the law, the attorney argued that his client should receive a light sentence. (Here, it is the attorney who is ignorant of the law.)

Improved: The attorney argued that his client, being ignorant of the law, should receive a light sentence. (A change in placement makes it the client who is ignorant of the law.)

Weak: We sell at retail only in Chicago.

Improved: We sell only at retail in Chicago.

or

We sell at retail in Chicago only.

• Choose familiar language.

For example, words like ameliorate, germane, wherewithal or unbeknownst work better in simpler form: improve, relevant, means, unknown.

• Have a meaningful closing. The last sentence should do some or all of the following: assure good will, include a specific next step and deadline, summarize and call for action.

Weak: If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Improved: If you have further questions about the status of your account, please call me at 567–7000.

• Arrange points in a list, table or graph, whenever appropriate.

Weak: At the meeting you’ll find it useful to have your notes from our previous sessions, a copy of the new standards, the procedures manual and the latest copy of our working draft.

Improved: Please have the following with you at the meeting on September 16:

• Your notes from previous sessions.
• A copy of the new standards.
• The procedures manual.
• The last copy (8/3) of our working draft.
• Revise for conciseness. Avoid the following overused expressions:

• Delete needless words such as those italicized below:

• Streamline wordy phrases:

• Omit useless sentence starters. These words often introduce phrases that delay the real subject of the sentence.

Examples: It has come to my attention that your account requires a contribution before September 15.

I think the results of the audit will please you.

• Avoid qualifiers, words that sap the strength of your writing: very, so, quite, rather, really.

Example: Instead of very big, use a precise adjective such as immense, significant, remarkable.

• Omit who, which and that wherever there is no loss of meaning.

Example: He is the controller who is in line for the CFO position.

• Revise for style. Vary sentence length and sentence beginnings. Doing so will give your writing rhythm and prevent it from having a monotonous sound.
• Be gender neutral. Instead of man hours, use work hours. Opt for staffing or personnel instead of manpower.
• Use the active voice. Make your subject the person or thing that performs the action. Active voice is clear, direct and energetic, thrusting the action ahead.

Passive: These forms must be completed by the actuary.

Active: The actuary must complete these forms.

• Revise for correctness. Avoid the common errors that plague much adult workplace writing. It’s a good idea to have a business writing or grammar book handy for reference.

Tip no. 4: Format the document attractively

• Use bullets and lists to ease reading and help your reader(s) retrieve information easily. And remember to use parallel structure when you do.

Not parallel: Anita requested we

1. define our mission statement,
2. set up individual objectives,
3. determining budgets, and
4. the approval process begins.

Parallel: Anita requested we

1. define our mission statement,
2. set up individual objectives,
3. determine budgets, and
4. begin the approval process.

• Keep paragraphs short, as a rule of thumb, between five to nine lines.
• Leave plenty of white space so your document does not intimidate your audience.
• Use headings to engage your audience and keep readers on track.
• Include tables, charts, graphs and other illustrations to showcase points at a glance.
• Use clear, legible typeface, preferably a 12-point font (don’t use smaller than 9-point type).

You can be a better writer

We hope you’ll greet the task of writing business documents with renewed spirit and skill. Approach your writing as a step-by-step process. Don’t fuss over structure and grammar in your first draft. That’s the job of revision and rethinking. And don’t rethink the content when you should be revising for correctness. Your job is to be clear. It’s too costly to be misunderstood.

—By Wilma Davidson, EdD, president of Davidson & Associates, a communications consulting company in East Greenwich, Rhode Island; e-mail: wdavidson@compuserve.com; and Susan Kline, a freelance writer and independent consultant; e-mail: skline@cwix.com._