Tips for Better Business Writing

As a proofreader of business writing, I see many of the same errors made again and again. Errors in your writing (be they in advertising copy, correspondence, or a web site) are more serious, I believe, than most people realize.

Why? Well, the standard of your writing has always been important. Today, though, more than ever before, FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT. We are bombarded by the written word in its many forms -- books, pamphlets, magazines, signs, e-mail, web sites and many other media.

We are all suffering from information overload and are forced to find ways of screening out as much as we can. We thus tend to make quick decisions on what to read and what not to. First impressions increasingly determine what we read and what we don't, and poor writing leads to a poor first impression.

The following list of tips should help you to avoid some of the most common slip-ups.

1. Capitals: Avoid the temptation to capitalize words in the middle of a sentence Just To Provide Emphasis Like This. If you want to be more emphatic, consider using bold face, italics, color or larger text.

2. Commas: The most common use of the comma is to join together short sentences to make a single longer sentence. We do this with one of the following small joining words: and, or, but, yet, for, nor, or so. For example:

We have finished the work, and we are looking forward to the weekend.

Notice that the two halves of this sentence could each be sentences in their own right. They thus need to be separated with a comma and joining word. In the next example, though, we don't need a comma:

We have finished the work and are looking forward to the weekend.

The halves of that sentence could not stand alone, so no comma was used.

3. Ellipsis: The ellipsis is a series of three -- and ONLY THREE -- full stops used to mark missing words, an uncertain pause, or an abrupt interruption. Avoid the temptation to use six or seven dots -- it looks amateurish. For example, we write:

Niles: But Miss Fine's age is only ... Fran: Young! Miss Fine's age is only young!

4. Excessive punctuation: Only one exclamation mark or question mark should be used at a time. Consider the following over- punctuated examples:

Buy now!!! Great bargains!!!!!!!!!!

Excessive punctuation looks too much like hysteria and detracts from your credibility. Avoid it.

5. Headings: For long works, establish a clear hierarchy of headings. Microsoft Word's heading styles are great for this. (They also allow you to automatically create a table of contents.)

6. Hyphenating prefixes: Most prefixes don't need a hyphen; i.e. we write "coexist", not "co-exist". There are exceptions, though. The prefixes "self-" and "ex-" are almost always hyphenated.

7. Numbers: Numbers of ten or less are normally written as words.

8. Quotation marks: Users of American English should use double quotes (" "). Users of British English should choose either single quotes (' ') or double quotes and stick with them for the whole document. Incidentally, British English usage is increasingly moving towards single quotes.

9. Spaces: Modern style is to use a single space at the end of a sentence, not two. Also, most punctuation marks (e.g. commas, full stops, question marks) are not preceded by a space.

10.Tables: Set table text one or two points smaller than the main body text and in a sans-serif font such as Arial or Verdana. Avoid vertical lines as they tend to add unnecessary clutter.

Armed with these simple guidelines, your writing should be well received every time.

Good luck!

An Outline Makes Business Writing a Snap

Here are several ways to simplify the writing process. One of the quickest and most easily adaptable ways is to create and follow a simple outline for all of your business writing. While you don't need a detailed, four-page outline that encompasses every point you want to make or every theory you purport, a simple outline can assist you in organizing your thoughts, narrowing your topic, helping you decide exactly what you want to say, and ensuring that you cover every important aspect of your subject. An outline also helps you jump over the writer's block hurdle that plagues nearly every writer at one time or another. Organize Your Thoughts Before you even begin to write, spend some time brainstorming. Grab a sheet of paper and a pen, or a blank computer screen and a keyboard, and write down everything you can think of that relates to your topic. Include ideas that are only slightly relevant, ideas that you may eventually discard, but don't filter your thoughts at this point. Spend about 10-15 minutes writing down EVERYTHING you can think of about this subject.

When you're finished, go back over what you've written and eliminate duplicate thoughts, unnecessary or irrelevant ideas, or anything else you don't want to include.

Now you have a fairly thorough list of the general ideas you want to discuss.

Narrow Your Topic

Next, look at your ideas more closely. Do you really want to cover every one of them? Are some of these topics better left unsaid or some such common knowledge that you don't need to mention them? Only you can decide what's important, but focus on what you really want to say. Ask yourself some questions, such as:

• Who am I trying to reach with this writing?

• What do I want my readers to understand?

• Are each of these ideas necessary to my central theme?

• Have I left anything out?

Decide Exactly What You Want to Say

Once you have each general topic area defined, it's time to think about each area in more detail. Decide what makes each thing you've written down important. Determine what it is that you want your readers to understand about each specific idea. Write your first draft at this point, being careful to fill in every detail you can. It's much easier to edit and cut extraneous material than to try to go back and fill it in later.

Cover Every Important Aspect of Your Subject

After you've written your first draft, you'll want to go back and evaluate every sentence, and every paragraph. Have you covered every important aspect of your subject? Should you expand an idea more fully? Can you rewrite a sentence or a paragraph to make it read more clearly or professionally? Now is the time to do your best work. Ensure that your subject is covered fully and completely and that you have said exactly what you intended to say.

Consider Hiring a Professional

Most small business owners and entrepreneurs must wear many, if not all, of the hats in the company. While it's easy to recognize the importance of your business communications, it's also easy to allow them to crucial documents to exit your office without full consideration for their impact on your bottom line.

Consider this... if you don't communicate clearly and effectively with your clients and prospects, you'll lose their attention -- and their business!

That's why, if your business writing skills are less than professional, you should seriously consider hiring a professional writer and/or editor to assist you.

Often, the first thing your audience sees is your written communication, and if you fail there, you'll never get the chance to show them what great products and astounding customer service you can provide!

Article by Fred Holt

The Written Word

Books, books, books. There are tons of books all around me. I pull one off the shelf to read and another takes its place. I am bone tired, but determined to read all the books in the room. Sitting at an old wooden desk, I begin reading when I hear a screeching sound to my right. I look up from my book to find the wall is opening. On the other side of the wall is another room much larger than the one I'm in. Inside the larger room are more shelves with more books. Thousands of books stacked from floor to ceiling. I know I have my work cut out for me so I begin reading again. I just finished page 11 when I begin to smile. Ah, books. I am no longer tired, but energized. Page 12.

Listening--Why Bother?

Below is an article that summarizes some key points to help us understand why listening is so important for success. Listening, communication, core values & principles are key aspects of HR Remedies's true North. That is why you will continue to see these as recurring themes in our blog.

The article was written by Bruce Wilson, executive coach & trainer and featured on the business listening site.

Practical Benefits of Better Listening for Leaders and Teams

Besides the deep implications of listening for leadership explored in decades of leadership models, listening has a number of direct, practical benefits for executives, managers, and team members.

Experienced management trainer Madelyn Burley-Allen identifies the following immediate tangible benefits from listening in the work place:

A Bond of Respect. Genuine listening generates respect, rapport and trust between talker and listener. In particular, employees like, and respond better to, supervisors who they think are listening to them.

Productivity. Productivity will be higher and problems solved more rapidly if people working to solve problems are encouraged to explain problems and start working though solutions out loud before "advice-giving" begins

Cooler Heads. Focusing on listening helps both the talker and the listener stay cool--and helps them cool down--when dealing with a crisis or discussing an emotionally charged topic.

Confidence. A supervisor who listens well will tend to have better self-esteem and self-image because they will get along better with others.

Accuracy. Better listening leads to better recollection of important facts and issues later on, resulting in fewer miscommunications and fewer mistakes. Thus, attention to good listening technique is even more important when complex issues are involved.

Parts of this section were inspired by the book Madelyn Burley-Allen, Listening, The Forgotten Skill. A Self-Teaching Guide (Fireside (Simon and Schuster), 1995 (Second Edition)) (>Amazon.com), with interpretation and analysis by Bruce Wilson.
Other motivational benefits of listening in the work place:
Innovative solutions to problems and new production methods are incubated by listening. When a leader tells someone exactly how to do something, or tells them to stop thinking and just keep doing it the way it's always been done, the organization misses out on any improvements that someone might discover by applying their fresh eyes and unique background to solving the problem.

From a different perspective, by not listening to the people who have to get the job done a leader not only chills innovation but also de-motivates by reducing feelings of responsibility, control, and importance.

Finally, it bears noting that Six Sigma, the latest system for total quality management, explicitly recognizes not only the value of the employee viewpoint, but the value to the employee of being listened to. Listening makes employees feel better about themselves and the problems they are working on seem more within their control.

Aren't some of us just too darn effective already to rely much on listening? Even General George S. Patton, the flamboyantly egocentric but highly effective U.S. Army tank commander during World War II, once said:

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."

Cultivating the Work Environment. At IDEO, the company's leaders seek out the creative voice of team members and encourage team members to listen to one another in order to build an office environment that promotes cooperative teamwork and inspired problem-solving.- IDEO uses empathic listening to discover ways to make the work environment comfortable and attractive in order to recruit and retain top people.- IDEO treats the work environment as one of its product development projects. They brainstorm, prototype, and take feedback from team members to zero in on what works.- This approach to work environment encourages a flow of creativity and problem solving rather than focusing team members on barriers and obstacles in their path, such as "who's getting a window office."

Encourage Prototyping. Like brainstorming, prototyping is a way to solicit input from team members and develop empathy with customers. Prototyping is the process of creating and experiencing multiple early versions of your products of services, perhaps with alternative features, before your "final" version is ready for sale.

For example, when facing a one month deadline, try to come up with 5 different flavors of primitive outlines or prototypes after the first week and get feedback from team members about the prototypes to see what directions look most promising. Then prepare a final version. Don't begin by preparing a final version of "best guess" for completion and delivery on day 30, then get feedback after its too late.

Prototyping early and often breaks log jams, builds momentum, and allows course changes before smacking straight into obstacles.

:: PARTNERING & PAIRING ::

2. Do you ever stop to consider how many people in
your team could be feeling that way right now?


I bet all I have that question #1 made you go back in time & clench your teeth even at the brief resurfacing of those old feelings.


That frustration that invariably leads to an increased employee issues, wasted time and sooner rather than later productivity loss? Well,just because it is not happening to right now it does not mean that those feelings are not lingering in your corridors right as you seat reading this coffee in hand.</span>

Funny thing is how much of this can be solved by the simple act of listening. Not the plain old listening, but the kind of intent listening that must take place during team meetings and any other gatherings, the kind of listening that does not involve the ears. The body language- listening, the results-listening, and the listening for one's team mood.

If something does not sound quite right, to your ears, your eyes, then action is a must. One of the key issues we find arise during this intent listening sessions is team construction and pairing.

The magic of pairing. We insist that people must be able to work with anyone and be flexible at all times. True. Ideally that should work, and so should communism.

But the reality of it is that if you put two people that usually don't see eye to eye to work together for an extended period of time this won't translate into rewards of any kind. No matter what level of maturity, skill and professionalism is at work, if the heart and collaborative spirit is not there, you lose, and so will your company and your bottom line. History shows us that good partnering is essential to any great achievement, why ignore such tried and true wisdom?

While it is true that working with folks who have different points of view is likely to enrich us, if philosophies< and personalities are diametrically opposite,the enriching part won't ever matter, because personal issues will inevitably blindfold & undermine more positive attributes.

The right pairings and team building won't take place overnight. This is an art with almost no science to it. So listen. Ask questions. Take the time to re-evaluate who sits next to whom, who seems unhappy to work with whom, what pairs/teams feed of each other's ideas and energy, and begin taking into account your team member's input when designing groups that will work side by side, departments, and shifts.

And why not go as far as to take more drastic measures and even consider having your current employees interview new hires that they'll work with? Studies show that companies that invest on that initial time to get to know potential new hires have a much lower turnaround than companies using more traditional interviewing/hiring methods.

Something to think about.

Top Ten...No, Eleven Business Books You Should Read

11 Books Every Leader Should Read

By Bob Sutton (His Blog Here)

 

Now that Stanford is on break and my classes are over, I have been taking a little time for reflection.  I was looking through the books on Amazon to find something that struck my fancy, and instead, I started thinking about the books that have taught me much about people, teams, and organizations -- while at the same time -- provide useful guidance (if sometimes only indirectly) about what it takes to lead well versus badly.  The 11 books below are the result.
Most are research based, and none are a quick read (except for Orbiting the Giant Hairball). I guess this reflects my bias.  I like books that have real substance beneath them.  This runs counter the belief in the business book world at the moment that all books have to be both short and simple.  So, if your kind of business book is The One Minute Manager (which frankly, I like too... but you can read the whole thing in 20 or 30 minutes), then you probably won't like most of these books at all.
1. The Progress Principle by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer.  A masterpiece of evidence-based management -- the strongest argument I know that "the big things are the little things."
2. Influence by Robert Cialdini the now classic book about how to persuade people to do things, how to defend against persuasion attempts, and the underlying evidence.  I have been using this in class at Stanford for over 20 years, and I have had dozens of students say to me years later "I don't remember much else about the class, but I still use and think about that Cialdini book."
3.Made to Stick Chip and Dan Heath.  A modern masterpiece,  the definition of an instant classic.  How to design ideas that people will remember and act on.   I still look at it a couple times a month and I buy two or three copies at a time because people are always borrowing it from me.  I often tell them to keep it because they rarely give it back anyway.
4. Thinking, Fast and Slow Daniel Kahneman.  Even though the guy won the Nobel Prize, this book is surprisingly readable.  A book about how we humans really think, and although it isn't designed to do this, Kahneman also shows how much of the stuff you read in the business press is crap.
5. Collaboration by Morten Hansen.  He has that hot bestseller now with Jim Collins called Great By Choice, which I need to read. This is a book I have read three times and is -- by far -- the best book ever written about what it takes to build an organization where people share information, cooperate, and help each other succeed.
6. Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie.  It is hard to explain, sort of like trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll as the old song goes.  But it is the best creativity book ever written, possibly the business book related to business ever written.  Gordon's voice and love creativity and self-expression -- and how to make it happen despite the obstacles that unwittingly heartless organizations put in the way -- make this book a joy.
7. The Pixar Touch by David Price.  After reading this book, my main conclusion was that it seems impossible that Pixar exists. Read how Ed Catmull along with other amazing characters-- after amazing setbacks, weird moments, and one strange twist after another -- realized Ed's dream after working on it for decades.  Ed is working on his own book right now, I can hardly wait to see that.  When I think of Ed and so many others I have met at Pixar like Brad Bird, I know it is possible to be a creative person without being an asshole.  In fact, at least if the gossip I keep hearing from Pixar people is true, Jobs was rarely rude or obnoxious in his dealings with people at Pixar because he knew they knew more than him -- and even he was infected by Pixar's norm of civility.
8. Men and Women of the Corporation Rosabeth Moss Kanter.  The classic book about the gender dynamics in organizations.  I also think this is the book that brought us the phrase "Homosocial Reproduction," the tendency of groups to bring in people who look and act just like them.  I have always loved how it sounds so scientific and dirty at the same time.  This book is so great because it gets beyond gender to show the way actually corporations work -- albeit in a not very flattering but instructive light.
9. Leading Teams by J. Richard Hackman.  When it comes to the topic of groups or teams, there is Hackman and there is everyone else.   If you want a light feel good romp that isn't very evidence-based, read The Wisdom of Teams.  If want to know how teams really work and what it really takes to build, sustain, and lead them from a man who has been immersed in the problem as a researcher, coach, consultant, and designer for over 40 years, this is the book for you.
10. Who Says that Elephants Can't Dance? By Louis Gerstner.   Sure, organizational change is hard, especially in a huge and old company.  This book shows it isn't impossible and how one leadership team did it in one of the most iconic companies. Sure, Apple is impressive.  But let's see if it is around in 25 years, let alone celebrating it's 100th birthday as IBM did this year!
11. The Path Between the Seas by historian David McCullough. On building the Panama Canal.  This is a great story of how creativity happens at a really big scale. It is messy. Things go wrong. People get hurt. But they also triumph and do astounding things.  I also like this book because it is the antidote to those who believe that great innovations all come from start-ups and little companies (although there are some wild examples of entrepreneurship in the story -- especially the French guy who designs Panama's revolution -- including a new flag and declaration of independence as I recall -- from his suite in the Waldorf Astoria in New York, and successfully sells the idea to Teddy Roosevelt ).  As my Stanford colleague Jim Adams points out, the Panama Canal, the Pyramids, and putting a man on moon are just a few examples of great human innovations that were led by governments. 
As I look at the list, I realize I better go back and read Path Between the Seas for that scaling book we are working on. I have not read it in years.
Let us know of your favorites -- and if want a systematic approach to this question, don't forget The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.
P.S. Also, for self-defense, I recommend that we all read Isaacson's Steve Jobs -- I keep going places -- cocktail parties, family gatherings, talks I give and attend, and even the grocery store where people start talking about it and especially arguing about it.  I have come to believe that whatever Jobs was in life, in death he has become a Rorschach test -- we all just project our beliefs and values on him.