Everyone suffers from writer's block sometimes. You sit at your computer and hope that pearls of wisdom will appear on your screen. Writing can be easy and you can get the results you want when you follow these eight basic steps:
1. Understand Your Audience
You must see your target so you know where to aim. Ask yourself these questions. Then answer them.
- What does my reader need to know about the subject?
- What's the benefit to the reader?
- What will my reader's reaction be to the message?
If your reader forgets just about everything you write, what's the one key point you want him or her to remember? Distill this key point into one sentence. This step is critical to delivering a clear and targeted message.
3. Write Dynamic Headlines that Shout "Read Me!"
Have you ever noticed how newspaper headlines jump out to tell a story? All your business documents-letters, email messages, reports, handbooks, and anything you write-should tell your story. Remember that people don't read, they skim. You want your readers to see your key issues at a glance.
4. Design for Visual Impact
When your document has a strong visual impact, it's very readable. Use lots of white space; prepare bulleted and numbered lists when they're appropriate; limit paragraphs to eight lines; and use charts, tables, and figures so readers can view information at a glance. This applies to every document you write-even letters and e-mail messages.
5. Simplify the Wording
You can write as though you're talking and still maintain a professional tone. Don't pepper your writing with big words; simplify your sentences. For example, instead of writing "give consideration to," write "consider." Then go through your text and delete every word and thought that doesn't add value. Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!
Unwieldy: Because we have a small shop with limited personnel whose primary purpose (in my opinion) is to support the reactor operations and experiments, I recommend we send all major projects to outside shops who have better machines and capabilities so as not to tie up our machinists for extended periods of time which can be a problem when an emergency job is required where they are interrupted. (67 words)
Simplified: We must outsource all jobs we can't handle. (8 words)
6. Use Positive Words
When you use positive words, you present yourself as a winner. It sounds so much better to write "Please remember to...," rather than "Don't forget to..."
7. Write in the Active Voice
When you use the active voice, your sentence is alive because you start the with the doer. For example, write "Bob sent the contract last week," rather than "The contract was sent last week by Bob."
8. Proofread Until Your Eyes Hurt
You want people to remember you for the right reasons, not for your faux pas. Although spelling and grammar checkers are helpful, don't turn on your computer and turn off your brain.
Copyright 2009
About the Author:Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts, Principal of Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts & Associates, is an award-winning business writer; business writing, technical writing, and email writing workshop facilitator; coach; and the author of 23 books including 135 TIS FOR STRATEGIC BUSINESS WRITING, 135 TIPS FOR EMAILS AND INSTANT MESSAGES, and SPEAKING YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS (which will be published by Houghton Mifflin in April 2010). Clients come to Sheryl because they're frustrated that it takes them so long to write, they spend too much time re-writing, they don't get the results they expect, and they're losing business because of poor writing. To learn more visit http://www.sherylwrites.com. Read more articles by Sheryl at http://writing-ace.blogspot.com.
