Communicate to motivate!
Table of Contents
The Importance of Good Writing
TIP #1: Be Active, Not Passive
TIP #2: Skip the Big Words. Your Reader is Not Impressed
TIP #3: Shorter is Usually Sweeter
TIP #4: Structure Your Paragraphs Logically
TIP #5: Are You Sure That's the Right Word?
TIP #6: Have a Conversation
TIP #7: Say What?
TIP #8: Avoid Qualifiers
TIP #9: Get Rid of Repetitive Redundancies
If not, you don’t need this article. However, if you’re occasionally called on to write a letter to a customer, instructions for a subordinate, details on the operation of a process, a training manual, an annual report, an article for the company newsletter, or even an email to a co-worker, you’ll develop a reputation as a writer.
Will people enjoy reading your work – or cringe when they get something from you? Most of the time, that will depend on your writing style. People like to read things that are easy to understand, are written in plain English, and follow a logical progression of thought. Misspelled words, grammatical errors, and poor sentence structure are all distracting to your message. This booklet is not intended to be a primer on spelling or grammar, but you can greatly improve your writing just by following 9 simple tips.
TIP #1: Be Active, Not Passive
A common error is writing in the passive voice when active voice will sound better and make more sense. Active voice is usually preferred because it makes the sentence clearer and shorter.
Instead of this: The man was bitten by the dog.
Try this: The dog bit the man.
Instead of this: A rude noise was made by the student, and the principal was called by the teacher.
Try this: The student made a rude noise, and the teacher called the principal.
Your writing shouldn’t cause your reader to scratch his head and say, “Huh?”.
Instead of this: If the Internal Revenue Service finds that an individual has received a payment to which the individual was not entitled, whether or not the payment was due to the individual's fault or misrepresentation, and whether or not the payment was due to a miscalculation by the Service, or some other type of error, nevertheless, the individual shall be liable to repay to the Department of the Treasury, the total sum of the payment to which the individual was not entitled.
Some writers seem to enjoy long sentences. In reality, it takes more talent to be concise.
ABC Software has a strong history of providing customers with solutions adaptable to unique business needs through award winning customization tools. VSA provides important capabilities that will enable ABC Software to take customization flexibility to more advanced levels in its next generation products.
Try this: ABC Software is one of the first to adopt Microsoft’s new Visual Studio Applications (VSA) technology. ABC has a history of providing customization tools that are adaptable to a wide variety of business needs. Using VSA will enable ABC to create even more advanced versions of its software.
TIP #2: Skip the Big Words. Your Reader is Not Impressed.
Some writers believe that they’ll be more highly respected or appear to be smarter if they use big words. additional - extra
advise - tell
attempt - try
commence - start
forward - send
individual - man or woman
initial - first
in the event of - if
numerous - many
on request - if you ask
particulars - details
persons - people
referred to as - called
sufficient - enough
terminate - end
TIP #3: Shorter is Usually Sweeter
A good rule of thumb is to let each sentence accomplish just one thing. Too many ideas in one sentence make it confusing. Instead of stringing several ideas together, simply put each one into a separate, shorter sentence.
Instead of this: The government and financial community in The Bahamas appreciates the need for companies to operate under the laws of a jurisdiction which minimizes taxation, reporting requirements and bureaucratic intervention while providing flexibility for operation in a liberal and concessionary environment.
Try this: The government and banking community in The Bahamas recognizes that companies want to pay less taxes. Those same companies want to be free of onerous reporting requirements and bureaucratic interference. The Bahamas allows businesses to operate freely and will even provide concessions to attract them to the islands.
TIP #4: Structure Your Paragraphs Logically
It’s very confusing to the reader if your thoughts jump back and forth instead of following a logical progression. From reading magazines and newspaper articles, most of your readers will expect you to start with a generality, and then continue with more detail and specific examples.
You pass a friend in the hall at work who asks what you did the night before. You stop and tell her that you went to a great new restaurant where the food and service were outstanding. By that point in the conversation, it’s time to get back to work.
You mention who you were eating with, gossip about who else you saw there, list every item on the extensive dessert menu, and describe the ambience of the place in intricate detail.
TIP #5: Are You Sure That’s the Right Word?
Much has been written about how confusing the English language is for those who are trying to learn it for the first time. Here are 55 sets of words that writers frequently confuse – and a quick review of their proper usage:
Affect – to influence;
Effect – result
All ready – prepared;
Already – at this time
All right – satisfactory;
Alright – incorrect usage
Allude – to refer to;
Elude – to evade
Any way – by any method;
Anyway – in any case;
Anyways – incorrect usage
Appraise – to estimate a value;
Apprise – to tell
Ascent – upward movement;
Assent – to agree
Assistance – help;
Assistants – helpers
Bare – naked;
Bear – carry;
Bear – animal
Born – brought into existence;
Borne – carried
Brake – stop;
Break – shatter
Buy – purchase;
Bye – goodbye;
By – next to
Capital – the seat of government;
Capitol – a building where a legislature meets
Compliment – praise;
Complement – to enhance or complete
Connote – to imply;
Denote – to indicate
Continual – occurs regularly;
Continuous – never stops
Correspondence – written communications;
Correspondents – people who write the communications
Desert – leave behind;
Desert – an arid land;
Dessert – after dinner course
Device – invention;
Devise – to invent
Discreet – prudent, circumspect;
Discrete – separate, distinct
Disinterested – unbiased;
Uninterested – indifferent
Elicit – to bring out;
Illicit – illegal
Fair – average;
Fair – beautiful;
Fair – just;
Fare – fee for transportation
Farther – literal distance;
Further – to a greater extent
Forward – toward the front;
Foreword – introductory note
Gorilla – a large primate;
Guerrilla – non-conventional warfare
Hanged – past tense of hang (execution of a criminal);
Hung – past tense of hang (as with a picture on the wall)
Heard – past tense of “hear”;
Herd – group of animals
Illusion – misperception;
Allusion – indirect reference
It’s – contraction of “it is”;
Its – possessive of “it”
Lead – to be out in front;
Lead – heavy metal;
Led – past tense of being out in front
Lessen – to make less;
Lesson – something learned
Overdo – to carry too far;
Overdue – past due
Passed – past tense of “pass”;
Past – a time gone by
Patience – forbearance;
Patients – clients of a doctor
Peace – absence of war;
Piece – part of something
Presence – being somewhere;
Presents – gifts
Principal – head of a school;
Principal – holder of a high position in a business;
Principal – sum of money that earns interest;
Principle – a rule or standard
Raise – to lift up;
Raze – to tear down
Residence – a house;
Residents – people who live in a house
Respectfully – courteously;
Respectively – in the order mentioned
Right – correct;
Rite – religious ceremony
Sight – something seen;
Site – a place;
Cite – quote an authority
Some time – a period of time;
Sometime – at an unspecified point in time
Stationary – not moving;
Stationery – writing paper
Straight – not bent;
Strait – passageway through water
Tenant – a renter;
Tenet – strongly held belief
Waiver – give up a right;
Waver – to be indecisive
Who’s – contraction of “who” and “is”;
Whose – possessive of “who”
Your – possessive of “you”;
You’re – contraction of “you” and “are”
TIP #6: Have a Conversation
For most things that you write, an informal tone is not only appropriate, but easier to read. Unless you’re writing a scholarly paper on some rare disease for your next medical convention, you should avoid the use of jargon.
Don’t think of your readers first as engineers or bankers or lawyers or business executives or co-workers. Good communication involves more than speaking and listening, or writing and reading. It involves clarity on the part of the writer, and understanding on the part of the reader. Your writing should be as easy to read and understand as your conversation around the water cooler. And especially avoid whatever buzzwords, business jargon, and clichés are currently in vogue.
Just imagine if people talked the way some of them write. You might get a voice mail like this:
"Hey George, let’s think outside the box, examine our core competencies, interface with our strategic alliances, and see if we’re on the same page. I figure it’s a win-win and a no-brainer. We should just touch base, and then hit the ground running. I figure if we’re proactive, we’ll find some great synergy. Bottom line, it’s all about positioning. And remember we need to walk the walk. "Hey George. Let’s invite a couple of girls out for a date. Call me back when you get a chance, okay?"
TIP #7: Say What?
Read what you’ve written out loud! Sometimes the problem comes from moving your subject and verb too far apart in the sentence.
Instead of this: President Bush wrote his State of the Union address while traveling from Washington to Omaha on the back of a menu.
Try this: President Bush wrote his State of the Union address on the back of a menu while traveling from Washington to Omaha.
Instead of this: Dr. Smith has been writing a treatise on the history of diabetes research since the early 1900s.
It discusses the history of diabetes since the early 1900s.
TIP #8: Avoid Qualifiers
Your writing will typically be stronger if you avoid certain qualifiers. Your writing is stronger when you avoid certain qualifiers. Do you see the difference when the word “typically” is removed from the previous sentence?
"Typically" is one of dozens of qualifiers that people use both in their writing and speaking.
TIP #9: Get rid of repetitive redundancies
A redundancy is unnecessarily using two or more words that mean the same thing - like repetitive redundancies. The second word is excessive and superfluous. Here are some examples of redundancies to avoid:
• small in size
• I thought to myself
• all-time record
• money-saving coupon
• join together
• merge together
• young child
• unexpected surprise
• hollow tube
• academic scholar
• past history
• honest truth
• close proximity
• previously recorded
• mental telepathy
• refer back
• added bonus
• bare naked
• consensus of opinion
• hot water heater
• passing fad
• surrounded on all sides
• unsolved mystery
• puppy dog
These few tips probably won’t win you a Pulitzer Prize or get you elected President, but hopefully you’ve learned enough to make your next writing assignment easier and more enjoyable…for you AND the reader!
