Business Writing Course

It is generally accepted that the traditional way of writing both technical and business documents has not worked very well.

For example, we have frequently seen Government documents—complicated, dense, jargon-filled—that have created frustration, lawsuits, and distrust between citizens and government agencies.

In order to address this issue, those who write such documents must re-assess how they communicate.

Research shows that clearly written regulations improve compliance and decrease litigation.

Clear writing that considers the readers' needs and draws them into the regulatory process improves the relationship between the government and the public.

Well-written correspondence reduces the burden on the public, and reduces the burden on the respective agency—as they don't have to deal with the consequences of poor communication.

How can we improve our communications?

The most critical goals in communicating are to:

• Engage the reader

• Write clearly

• Make it attractive

The next section summarizes some of the best techniques to achieve these goals.

Engage the reader

By engaging your readers, you are highlighting that you have considered them and understand what they need to know.

When you address your readers' needs, they are more likely to be receptive to your message. When your document is well written, your readers are more likely to:

• Understand what you want

• Focus on key information

• Accept that you are concerned with their needs

• How can you engage your readers?

You do this by speaking to them directly and by organizing your message in a structure that reflects their interests.

Here are some key ways:

Identify your audience

Identify your audience before you start writing. Identify why the reader needs to read the document. Identify all parties who will be interested, not just to technical or business people. Keep in mind the average reader's level of technical expertise.

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For example, the following individuals may read a business proposal:

• Technical Architect

• Finance Officer

• Subject Matter Experts

• Human Resource Manager

• Account Manager

• Quality Manager

• Company Directors

• Programmers

Organize to meet your reader's needs

People read documents to get answers.

They want to know how to do something or the consequences of what happens if they don't do something. Organize your document to respond to these concerns. Frequently this means describing events as they occur, e.g. you identify the requirements, install the server, test the network, write the support documents, and sign it off when completed.

Go through the questions your readers are likely to ask and then organize them in that order. For regulations, you can organize them into a comprehensive table of contents that serves as a document outline.

Use a Question-and-Answer format

A very effective method of writing clear documentation is the write section headings as questions.

For example: How to install the server? or, How to manage projects?

Ask yourself the questions your readers will ask. Answer each question directly. Using this format helps readers to scan the document and find the information they want quickly. It also increases the chances that they will see a question that they didn't have, but need to have answered. This format is enormously helpful to readers.

Use "you" to speak directly to readers

The word "You" reinforces the message that the document is intended for your reader in a way that "he," "she," "your company" or "they" cannot. More than any other single technique, using "you" pulls readers into your document and makes it relevant to them.

You can also use the word "we" to refer to your company. This reduces the word count and makes the document more accessible to the reader.

Use the active voice

Active voice makes it clear who is supposed to do what. It eliminates ambiguity about responsibilities.

Not: "The server must be installed."

Instead write: "You must install the server."

Use the appropriate tone

In technical document, tone is not usually an issue. Nevertheless, the tone of business letters affects how responsive the reader is to your message. A cold or brusque tone can cause the reader to tune out and stop reading the letter.

Who your reader is and what are their circumstances should determine the tone of your letter.

How to write more clearly?

Technical and business documents present challenges because of the highly complex information they often contain. At the same time, you have multiple audiences, some highly knowledgeable, some less so.

The following techniques will help ensure that you keep your language clear, so that your users can focus on technical information.

Use short sentences

Express only one idea in each sentence. Long, complicated sentences often mean that you aren't clear about what you want to say. Short sentences show clear thinking. Short sentences are also better for conveying complex information as they break the information up into smaller, easier-to-process units. Try to vary your sentence structure to avoid stilted prose.

Write to one person, not to a group

Use singular nouns, pronouns, and verbs to direct your writing to one individual reader. This prevents confusion about whether an instruction, or requirement, applies to readers acting individually or in groups.

Use the simplest tense you can

Using the present tense avoids the clutter of compound verbs and clearly conveys what is standard practice. Avoid using "you will" or "you could" instead of the present tense "you can ".

Use "must" to convey requirements

Be careful when using this word, as, in the wrong context, it can appear harsh. In general, you use these words as follows:

• Must for obligation

• May for permission

• Should for preference

• May not to convey prohibitions

• Avoid the ambiguous "shall", as it is rarely used in everyday conversation

Avoid Ambiguity

There are several ways you can reduce ambiguity:

• Keep subjects and objects close to their verbs.

• Put conditionals such as "only" or "always" next to the words they modify.
  Write: "you are required to install the server," not "you are only required to install the server."

• Put long conditions after the main clause.
  Write, "install the server if you have more than 500 concurrent users," not "if you have more the 500 concurrent users, install the server"

Use "if-then" tables

If the material is particularly complex and uses many conditional situations, put it in an "if-then" table.

Avoid words that cause confusion

Common sources of confusion include:

• Undefined abbreviations and acronyms

• Two different terms used for the same thing (PC, Desktop, Workstation--choose one)

• Legal, technical, but confusing, jargon

• Strings of nouns forming complex constructions (pre planning quality efficiency operation procedures)

• Stilted language

Use contractions when appropriate

Contractions can help speed-reading, improve accuracy, and some times soften the tone of your letters. For example, very few readers will say, "I do not" in conversation, as opposed to "I don’t."

Write in a visually appealing style

You want your documents to help readers get information quickly. Visually appealing documents are far easier to understand.

Technical documents are often dense and confusing. You can improve this by replacing blocks of text with headings, tables, and using more white space. This will help your reader by making the main points readily apparent and grouping related items together. Use a spacious presentation and your readers will be more likely to understand what you want to convey. In turn, your readers will be more likely to do what you want them to do in their dealings with your agency.

Use many informative headings

Headings attract your readers' attention to important information. They help readers find their way through a document and locate important points.
Give each heading lots of information. How often have you seen several different sections entitled "solution"? Solution for what? If you say "Solution for secure Lotus Notes email," the reader knows exactly what you are talking about, and knows the difference between that section and another section entitled "Solution for Domino Server security."

Obviously, headings should not be so long that they overwhelm the material in the section itself.

Write short sections

Short sections break up the material into easily understood pieces, and allow you to use white space to maximum effect. Short sections are easier to read and understand. Long sections can appear difficult and forbidding, even before someone tries to read them.

Keep one issue to each paragraph

By limiting each paragraph to one issue will give the document a clean appearance and give the impression that it is easy to read and understand. By presenting only one issue in each designated paragraph, you can use informative headings that reflect the entire issue covered by the paragraph.

Use Vertical Lists

Vertical lists highlight a series of requirements in a visually clear way. Use vertical lists to help your reader focus on important material.

Highlight levels of importance

• Help the reader understand the order in which things happen

• Make it easy for the reader to identify all necessary steps in a process

• Add blank space for easy reading

Use emphasis to highlight important points

Emphasis techniques are useful to draw the reader’s attention to a line or two. You can use techniques like bold and italics to draw the reader's attention to the subject area.

Don’t use ALL CAPS, which are much harder to read.

Summing Up

If you follow the suggestions outlined here, you'll make a major contribution to the success of your company‘s documents. Well-written documents will do a lot to improve reader satisfaction and earn praise for your agency.