On Business Writing - Divide and conquer
Your writing does not need to be perfect in order for it to be effective.
Note: This is an article written for an IC audience interested in learning more about written communication at work. Comic Credit: Dilbert By Scott Adams
👋 Happy new year! I hope you have had a great one. One of the questions I received recently and have struggled with is effective written communication. English is my third language, and so I often felt insecure in what and how I wrote - especially at work where the stakes are high. Over the years I have realized that you don’t have to be an English major or professional writer to do well with business writing. In fact, the best communicators use simple vocabulary, are hyper focused on their audience’s needs, deliver actionable takeaways, and are smart about identifying the type of written communication that needs most of their time.
Here is a primer on how to do this.
First, the basics - What makes good written communication at work?
Good written communication focuses on delivering the reader what they are looking for in the simplest, easiest way possible.
Common assumptions:
My writing needs to be perfect: You don’t have to excel in writing in order to be an effective written communicator. In fact, research shows that using simple language is key to effective business writing.
I should focus on what I want to say: The key to effective written communication (like all communication) is to focus on what the user wants to hear and then ask yourself, how can I give my reader this information in the simplest, easiest way possible?
All written communication is equally important: Written communication can be classified under two spectrums: 1. Impact - high versus low impact and 2. Urgency - urgent versus not. Don’t waste time on communication that is low impact and not urgent. Depending on the stakes and priority, you should invest time in thinking through what the reader wants to hear and how you will convey this.
Types of communication:
It is not worth it to spend considerable time perfecting every piece of written communication. By identifying where you should invest more time, you will be able to be more productive and effective in your written communication. At a high level, there are two types of written communications to be mindful of when considering how to spend your time.
Urgent:
Focus on brevity and directly answering the question at hand as quickly as possible. Getting your response to the team is more important than how you write your response so don’t waste time overthinking your response. Examples of urgent communication include: responding to questions about offer deadlines, time sensitive questions around status updates of a project, etc.
Non-Urgent:
For all other written communication, pause to think about your audience and work backward from what they want. One of my favorite examples of this is Apple’s iPod launch. Instead of heralding all the features of an iPod (great 5GB hard drive and whatnot), Apple simply shared that the iPod brings “1000 songs in your pocket.” The reader knew instantly what they were getting. To apply this to your writings, spend a few minutes instead answering:
What is my goal with this piece of communication?
Who do I want to reach?
What do they care about?
Once you have the answers to these, apply the following steps to convey your message.
How to do this:
Step Zero: Get to the point
Your reader needs to know what to think about right now. Keep only the background information that’s important to your message, and cut out the rest. For example:
Step One - Talk like a human
This might seem obvious but we somehow end up treating written and spoken communication completely differently. Yes, there are nuances (for example body language with spoken communication) but writing effectively is no different than speaking with someone effectively. For example:
Step Two - Give actionable takeaways
In most cases your reader wants to know not just what needs to happen but who needs to do it. This makes it clear to the reader what action needs to be taken or expected. For example:
Step Three: Format your information
Research shows that only 16% of readers read every text word-by-word. Most will glance to look for key information so it is important to focus on structuring your content in a way that guides the readers to what they are looking for easily. Use bullet points, bold text, and varying font sizes to convey your point more effectively. For example:
Key Takeaways
Divide and conquer - Identify which pieces of communication need more thought
For urgent comms:
Don’t waste time overthinking your communication style when the response is urgent
Responding quickly builds credibility greater than a well thought out response that is not timely
For non-urgent comms:
Start with what your reader needs, work backward
Cut out complexity, give your reader clear takeaways
Organize your information so you help guide the reader to what they need easily
Questions
If you have a specific situation you want to get advice on, please reply to this email. I would love to hear from you! I’ll tackle a few reader questions regularly (and keep your identity anonymous).
Interesting Read
If you are interested in going deeper, HBR’s Better Business Writing and the article 3 Ways To Make Your Writing Clearer has some great tips in more depth on effective business writing.
Until next time.
Stay safe,
Zainab