Erica’s situation is not unique. In my experience as a business-writing consultant, I regularly coach employees who are asked to rewrite emails, documents, and other communications multiple times. Often this happens because the executive who assigned the task feels the finished product is conveying the wrong message. In Erica’s case, she failed to ask for much-needed clarifications surrounding the purpose of the message, the person it was intended for, and the point she was supposed to make. As a result, she was unable to communicate what was expected.

Where Most People Go Wrong

Writing errors often arise even before a person sets pen to paper. While planning is the most critical part of the writing process, unfortunately, many individuals have not been equipped with a quick, effective system for preparing to write.

What can you do to get better at business writing?

This simple three-question framework, which I call the three P’s will help you jump-start your writing process — whether you’re tackling an email, a formal document, social post, or another form of written communication. Before diving in, ask yourself these questions:

• What is the purpose of this document?
• Who (person) is going to read it? What are that person’s emotional trigger points and questions that might have an impact on my message?
• What, in one or two sentences, is my point?

These three P’s make up your writings DNA and can help you to streamline the writing process, clear your mind, and create more impactful work. Here’s how to use them.

Purpose: The North Star

The three P’s begin with purpose — the North Star of your message that steers it toward its goal. The most common purposes of business documents, ranging from brief emails to voluminous reports, are:

• To inform
• To request
• To persuade

Think of purpose as the intention — the result you want to achieve. For example, every document contains information, but that doesn’t mean that the purpose of all documents is to inform.

If you are writing a report on the outcome of a marketing initiative, ask yourself what the purpose of the report is. Are you simply informing your managers of the results or persuading them that you did a good job and deserve more resources? Or think of an email to a client regarding the need to submit important paperwork. Are you informing them that the documents are necessary, requesting that they send them, or persuading them that they will benefit from sending the materials promptly? Knowing your purpose in advance creates the context for your whole document.

To narrow down on the purpose, ask yourself:

• What do I want the reader to do after reading these words? If they are supposed to act or think differently, then you are probably requesting or persuading.
• Am I just sending this as an FYI? Then your purpose is to inform. Note that when you choose informing as your purpose, you are assuming that the person will not respond. To get a response, you must ask for it by making a request or showing the benefits of responding.

In a recent writing class, I asked Ed, a participant, to identify the purpose of his document. “To inform,” he replied.

“What are you informing the recipient of?” I asked.

“To inform him that his purchase order (PO) is about to expire and that he needs to renew it within 14 days if he wants to continue making purchases.”

There was information in the document, but the reader was supposed to act to renew the PO. Thus, the real purpose of Ed’s document was to request that the reader renew his PO within 14 days. With this purpose in mind, he wrote a message that moved the client relationship forward. Ed might have thought that telling the client his PO was expiring would make them realize that they should renew it; however, his client might be deluged with emails and other work and unable to focus on the next steps to take. The client needed guidance about what action was necessary, and that meant that Ed had to make a request.

Person: An Understanding of Your Audience

How do you feel when you read something that contains words you don’t understand? Or something that sounds like it was written for a child? Probably, you are less receptive to the message when the language aims too high or too low and does not treat you as an equal.

Your document will not generate any outcome until the readers understand your message. They may agree or disagree, like or dislike, but unless they understand you, your efforts are in vain. If you want readers to understand your message, you need to know them. Three elements make a difference:

Speak the reader’s language.

Say, for example, you are writing to a prospective customer about your data security service. If you are addressing the chief technology officer, you can use some technical terms; however, if your message is directed at the chief executive officer, you might use fewer technical terms on the assumption that the CEO leaves technical details to that department.

Particularly when writing to an audience in a different culture or to people who speak English as a second language, it is essential to use clear, straightforward language, and avoid idioms that might baffle your readers. Show respect by choosing words and sentence structures your readers will easily understand. Be mindful of using jargon or too many acronyms. As a practice, identify acronyms the first time you use them.

Anticipate and answer the reader’s questions.

As readers read, questions form in their minds. They ask questions like, “What am I supposed to do about it? When is it due?” and of course the most fundamental question, “What’s in it for me?”

For example, if the HR department sends a company-wide memo regarding a new health insurance plan, employees will naturally ask how the new plan will affect them. By proactively addressing such concerns in their initial memo, the HR department can avoid receiving countless inquiries.

Readers may also have more specific questions that you should aim to answer in your message. For example, if you are responding to a customer complaint about a phone bill, the reader’s questions may include, “Why did this cost so much?” or “Why wasn’t I made aware of this more clearly?” Anticipate and answer the reader’s substantive questions.

Target the reader’s “hot buttons.”

Each of us has “hot buttons” — emotional trigger topics that make our hearts go pitter-pat. For one person, a hot button might be cost or For another, it might be productivity or avoiding litigation. Whatever the person’s emotional makeup may be, you can be sure that there are topics that will cause them to jolt awake and pay close attention to your message.

For example, when the engineering staff of a regional water utility consulted me about how to gain executive approval for a new valve that would cost $1 million, I advised them to downplay the cost (although, of course they disclosed it). Instead, I suggested they highlight the gains in reliability and safety and the avoidance of the negative publicity associated with the flooding that would occur if the old valve failed.

Remember that you can only fulfill your purpose if you engage your reader. So, consider your readers: What makes them tick? Are they people who value profit above all, or do they have higher values such as environmental impact? What topics can you allude to that will get and keep their attention?

Point: The Heart of the Matter

Have you ever received a document that you read several times and could still not discern the point? This situation usually arises when writers themselves have not clarified the main point in advance. If the writer does not know the point, the reader will be hard-pressed to see it.

The point is your essential message. It is closely connected to your purpose and may at times overlap with it. If you imagine that communication is like shooting an arrow, then the purpose is the direction in which the arrow is aimed. The person is the target. The point is the arrow: It’s the message you are sending to your reader.

Returning to the story of Ed and the client’s renewal of the PO, the purpose was to request. The point then becomes, “Please renew the PO.” Similarly, if you have written a report about your marketing campaign, your purpose is to persuade. The point is that the campaign produced a measurable impact on sales and is worthy of further investment.

When identifying the point, ask yourself what you would say if you ran into your reader on the street and he said to you, “I didn’t have time to read your email. Just tell me what it said.” What you would say in 15 seconds to your reader is probably your main point.

Get to the point very early in your document, preferably within the first 40 to 50 words, while your reader is still paying attention (and before they delete or archive your email).

The Symbiotic Relationship of the Three P’s

The magic of the three P’s lies in their symbiotic relationship. Purpose sets the direction and context of the whole message. Once you know the purpose, you ask yourself how you can fulfill it. You can only fulfill your purpose through the person who reads — and hopefully accepts — your message. After you have established your purpose and analyze the person, you will be in a position to hone your point. One example I like to give is this:

Imagine that you own a South Seas Island, and you want to sell it. Your purpose is to persuade your prospect to purchase the island. You have two prospective buyers. One is the CFO of a major multinational corporation. His plan is to develop the island into a luxury resort. The second prospect is an indigenous matriarch who was born on the island, moved to the mainland, and made a fortune selling to tourists. Her plan is to preserve the island’s natural habitat and make it a retreat for her family. You have the same purpose, but two very different readers. Would you make the same points in both sales presentations? Obviously not. Purpose leads to person, which leads to point.

Integrating the three P’s into your workflow ensures that your emails, posts, reports, proposals, and anything else you write, serve their intended purpose, delivering clear, actionable points that resonate with your readers. Perhaps this is why students from my business writing training have reached out to me years later to say that they continue to integrate the Three P’s into their daily work.

The post How to Take Your Business Writing From “Average” to “Great” appeared first on Worktalk.

Inevitable/evitable

Inevitable means unavoidable. Did you know that the word evitable is a real word, meaning that something could be avoided? Why do we say inevitable but never evitable?

He wanted to pretend the breakup was inevitable, but if he had behaved properly, it was entirely evitable.

Disgruntled/Gruntled

Disgruntled means dissatisfied or unhappy. Its parallel word is gruntled, which means satisfied or contented. So, the next time you run into an old friend, you can exclaim, “I’m so gruntled to see you!”

A friendly smile can make the difference between disgruntled and gruntled.

Inorganic/Organic

The word “organic” has been hijacked by health-food enthusiasts who want it to mean natural, specifically, grown without using artificial pesticides. But technically, organic means derived from a living organism. In chemistry, the word refers to something that contains the element carbon. In this context, most of our food is organic except salt, which is composed of sodium and chloride.

In contrast, inorganic means not growing from a living organism or not containing carbon compounds. So your polyester shirt is inorganic, but your cotton blouse is organic. Still, we rarely see the word inorganic, while organic, – which is in a sense inaccurate – is used to describe food that has been grown a certain way.

In a business context, organic growth comes from sales of a company’s products or services. Inorganic growth comes from revenue of an M&A transaction, from the acquired company. The company grew organically at the rate of 15%; investors may be fooled by the rapid increase due to inorganic growth after the acquisition.

Most fast food is organic but not organic. The salt on the French fries is inorganic.

Inflammable/Flammable

Although these words are widely considered to by synonyms, they have subtly different meanings.

Flammable means easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly. Something flammable is capable of burning, especially a liquid.

Inflammable means capable of being easily set fire; easily enkindled; combustible. It also refers to a person who is easily upset.

While you can use them interchangeably, it’s best to honor these slightly different connotations.

Invaluable/Valuable

These words, which, according to all English usage, should be opposites, actually mean the same thing. In fact, something invaluable is even more valuable than something merely valuable. You have to love the English language for throwing out these conundrums!

Irregardless/Regardless

For decades, as a true curmudgeon and card-carrying member of the Grammar Police, I objected to the word irregardless. It is redundant and has the same meaning as regardless.

However, to my dismay, the Merriam-Webster dictionary recently took the position that irregardless is a word, as it has been used, albeit in a nonstandard manner, for over 200 years. Nevertheless, and irregardless of the dictionary, business writers should use regardless instead.

Disinterested/Uninterested

Although these words are often used synonymously, they have very different meanings.

Disinterested means objective, not having a stake in the dispute. An arbitrator or mediator needs to be a disinterested party so that they can treat both parties in a fair and impartial manner.

Uninterested means lacking in interest. A person who is uninterested does not care. If you are involved in litigation, you want the judge to be disinterested but not uninterested.

As you see, it pays to be precise when we choose our words. After all, words become sentences, and sentences become thoughts. Thoughts have wings – carrying our ideas into the minds of our readers. Let’s make sure we fly right.

The post Are You Gruntled that Irregardless is a Word? appeared first on Worktalk.

Is poor writing costing your company money?

If staff members go back and forth trying to clarify a murky email, the team loses time and productivity. Foggy communication also affects engagement as employees tire of trying to decipher unclear messages.

If business development team members fail to accurately present the value of your offering to their prospects, you lose sales.

If customer service representatives offer ambiguous solutions to customer problems, customers may become dissatisfied, which ultimately leads to lost repeat sales and a poor reputation.

And let’s not forget the typos in websites, blog posts, and templated emails that damage branding.

If your organization suffers from any of these problems, writing needs to become a priority.

Studies indicate that corporations lose upwards of $400 billion annually because of poor writing. That’s over $1 billion daily. This staggering figure points to the losses in sales, productivity, staff, morale, and branding that are directly connected to unclear or careless writing.

As a business leader, you might think that coaching your team in writing skills is outside your core responsibilities. However, investing time and energy to develop this vital skill in your workforce will pay off in the long run.

Here’s what you can do to improve writing in your organization.

1 – Lead by Example

Good business communication starts from the top. As a leader, your communication standards affect all levels of the organization. Your team will make the effort to write better if they know that good writing matters to you.

Hone your writing skills so that your staff can use your writing as a standard to which they should aspire.

2 – Offer training and resources

Writing is a learnable skill. Your employees might never have had a solid writing course, even if they are college graduates. They need knowledge.

Build your team’s skills by offering writing workshops and training programs to enhance their comprehension and practice their skills. Many programs are available, including from my company Worktalk. I recommend you choose one that customizes its training materials by consulting with management and analyzing writing samples. Plenty of off-the-shelf programs are available, but if you go that route, make sure they pertain to your business.

Tools such as Grammarly are helpful at weeding out basic errors in grammar and punctuation, and AI-assisted writing programs are useful too–up to a point. Be careful about adopting the suggestions of AI-writing algorithms such as ChatGPT without giving them a careful, human look-over.

Some organizations create style guides to establish companywide norms for emails, reports, and other documents. If you choose to create a guide, make it brief. Format it clearly, and make sure everyone knows about it. There’s no benefit in having a style guide that sits on a shelf.

3 – Give specific feedback

In my experience as a corporate writing consultant, I see many managers who look at the poor writing of their subordinates and think, “I can fix this in less time than it will take to send it back to them.” Then they swiftly revise the document and send a marked-up copy to the original writer. If you think this way, you are probably right: It will take you less time to fix the person’s errors than it would to sit with them and explain what they did wrong.

However, this is only true once. If you add up the time you spend correcting the same mistakes over and over, you might see that coaching the writer is a worthwhile investment. True, it takes time. But if you do not help your team learn, you will be correcting the same mistakes 10 years from now.

Don’t just redline bad writing and send it back. Explain your corrections so the writer will do a better job the next time. An old proverb says, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime.” Let your team members become lifelong writers of powerful prose.

Reward good writing and invest in it

In addition to following these three tips, recognize and reward good writing. If employees consistently produce high-quality written work, acknowledge them. Let everyone know that you consider writing skills important when making decisions about who gets promoted.

Improving writing skills takes time. To promote a culture of writing excellence, commit to making it a priority when coaching your direct reports and establishing your training budget. Your investment in written communication will pay long-term dividends in the form of increased productivity, sales, and employee engagement. Savvy leaders recognize that strong writing is fundamental to running an organization that outpaces the competition.

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