Your written business communication skills can either help you grow your business career or undermine it. Since technology has directed business communication to non-verbal channels, how you express yourself in writing has become critical.

Consider the fact that the average worker sends and receives around 128 work emails every day. Your number can be higher or lower, but one thing is certain – you spend a notable portion of time writing. 

Eliminate your chances of misunderstandings, confusion, and frustration because of poorly written content, and build your reputation as a detail-oriented and credible professional. Boosting your written business communication skills can help you with all of that, no matter what your position in the company is. Here’s how to do it.

Write with Care

The more you concentrate on the content of messages you receive, the better you’ll be at crafting a suitable response.

One mistake that busy workers often make is that they read or listen to the message with scattered attention. The responder may have to repeat themselves several times until you cover the details from the first message.

Good written communication skills go hand in hand with attentiveness. Whenever you have to send an email or receive something that demands your response, devote your complete attention to addressing that task.

Minimize the Questions with Details

Instead of going back and forth trying to fill in the blanks with new responses, focus on including all relevant details early in the correspondence. This tip especially comes in handy with emails.

Try to anticipate what kind of question the recipient might ask you and provide them with answers beforehand. Of course, you should only include information that is valuable to that conversation.

For example, if your boss asks you to finish a report, let them know in reply when you expect to get it done. Don’t wait for them to ask. The recipient will appreciate your forward thinking. Keeping one step ahead is what successful people do.

Organize Your Conversations

Do your best to discuss only one topic per conversation. Going back to that sequence of messages will be much easier if you don't have several topics clustered together.

Organizing your conversations, or better yet, categorizing them according to the subject matter, will help you stay on track. In business, it is always helpful when you can revise the information you have received in the past. This will be easier if you address one thing at a time.

Be Direct and Concise

They say time is money, and in the world of business, that is the truth. That’s why you shouldn’t waste anyone’s time.

No worker has the time to read meaningless and endless essay-like emails, reports, memos, or messages. You have to be direct and concise in written communication.

Neil Hansen, a business communication expert and contributing writer at BestWritingAdvisor, explained why this is important, “Business people are always trying to do as much as they can within the shortest time limit. When you have a pile of tasks waiting for you, and you know that the recipient doesn’t have it easier than you, sending long, irrelevant content is just disrespectful.”

Whenever you want to send a written piece of content, get straight to the point. Explain the reason for your message and write only what the recipient needs to know. Limit your written communication to the necessary information.

Know When It’s Time to Stop

Spotting the moment when your written communication should end is a great business strategy. There are topics that you can't cover via email. When you notice that you can't achieve what you want through written communication, it is time to switch channels.

Rather than writing a 2-page email or trying to explain something for the tenth time, ask the recipient if you can give them a call. Some things just need to be explained verbally.

Add a Call to Action

Let the recipient know what the purpose of the email or memo is by including a call to action at the end. A call to action makes written communication complete and well-rounded.

Whether the reader should call you, confirm their attendance, or give you information, be specific about the next step they need to take. For example:

  •     Please inform me about your decision by Friday.
  •     Please give John Doe a call today.

The call to action should be expressed in a polite, professional, and precise manner.

Proofread

There is no room for sloppy writing in business. Even if you are sending out a quick email, make sure to proofread it first.

Not proofreading your written content is one of the biggest writing mistakes people make. Spelling and grammar mistakes signal to the person on the other end that you are careless and uninterested. That is never an impression you want to make in the business community.

To speed up the proofreading process, you can use proofreading tools like Grammarly. You can integrate Grammarly in Gmail, and it will proofread as you type.

The benefit of proofreading is that you'll start noticing your most common mistakes, and you'll be more focused on not making them again. Also, you'll have a chance to take one last look at what you have written and possibly make changes to improve understandability.

Whatever you put in writing will become a permanent record, so make sure your record is spotless. Use these tips daily and set your mind on improving your written communication skills. There is nothing holding you back from improving your written communication skills. The only requirement is that you practice, practice, and, you've guessed it – practice some more.

 

Dorian Martin is a content writing specialist and editor. He studied computer science and continued to develop his knowledge in the fields of content writing, AI, blockchain, design, digital marketing, and business communication. Currently, Dorian works as a senior writer at an essay writers service where he helps students and postgraduates who need someone to write my papers. Along with all of that, Dorian runs his personal blog. 

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