It's
becoming a regular occurrence.
A well-dressed executive, sitting across the table from me, a worried expression etched on his face, inevitably asks:
"How do I become a better writer?"
Then I sigh.
Not because I'm the go-to resource for all questions about business writing.
Or
because I vanquished my former nemesis, the colossal writing challenge, and
emerged victorious, with a perfectly crafted piece of content.
Or
because I have, in a eureka moment, uncovered the secret to writing with simplicity, brevity and clarity
and have been sharing the knowledge with all who desire to become more
effective communicators.
I often sigh because I recognise the dilemma we all face as professionals. Whether you're a seasoned business writer or just finding your 'voice', it is often a battle to produce impromptu pieces required to influence, refute, inform or confirm.
And
what if you need to address a crisis and respond in a timely manner, without
recourse to your company's official communicators, or to that friend of yours
who’s a wordsmith?
So when an experienced and business-savvy executive, in a coaching session I recently completed, asked me the most frustrating question about writing, I simply shared what I constantly do to hone my skills.
I told him to develop and maintain a habit of reading regularly and to simply 'do
it'; that is, to write.
He stared at me in disbelief, clearly unconvinced about the effectiveness of my advice.
I thus decided to explain the usefulness of the tips given. After all, what good am I, as a communications advisor, if I cannot adapt my style to educate or persuade?
Below are the two simple steps I suggested which will improve his skills, as well as your
business writing.
1) Read regularly and extensively
Now
I know this isn't what you want to hear, being the stressed-out professional
that you are, juggling multiple tasks and dealing with deadlines, unreasonable
bosses and uncertainties.
But
there's no way around this. Unless you develop a habit of reading good material on a daily
basis (for quicker results), or a few times a week at least, you will NOT
improve your writing skills.
Not
only does reading amplify your knowledge, increase your vocabulary and improve
your overall communication skills, it does two things you don't immediately
realise:
A) It exposes you to different styles and nuances
in writing
Your
brain, like a sponge, will soak up interesting expressions, new concepts and
unusual constructions. At some point, all these things will seep into your
writing; they will enrich your content and help you develop a unique writing
'voice'. Oh and your grammar improves as well.
B) It makes you more discerning by sharpening
your cognitive abilities
You
will begin to question things, uncover hidden meanings, and analyse what isn't
being stated. Your imagination will also stretch and you will become a more
rounded individual.
Free online resources to encourage reading

But what if you simply don’t
have the time to read hardcover books?
Well,
there are numerous resources online, which you could, and should read. You
could assess online versions of important media outfits such as Bloomberg, The
Harvard Business Review, The Economist, The New York Times, etc. Some demand
paid subscriptions after a certain number of free articles but you have various
options available on the Internet. Other free resources include articles from the Reuters, CNN
or BBC websites.
More
often than not, your favourite local newspaper has an online version. A word of
caution though: Only read newspapers where error-free content is guaranteed and where journalists are
experienced, respected professionals. You do yourself no favours by reading
pieces rife with grammatical errors and/or written in sub-standard business
English.
If
you prefer using social media, a good repertoire of interesting short and
long-form content is LinkedIn. Now LinkedIn
has granted access to everyone to publish on its platform, so be selective. Not all content featured on LinkedIn is written in standard
business language. A good rule of thumb is to start reading articles written by
respected 'influencers', such as Arianna Huffington, Guy Kawasaki, Richard
Branson, etc. Note their writing styles, 'tones' and sentence structures. A bonus
of this platform is that you could download it as a mobile app for easy access.
I
also recommend reading blogs that publish short but useful articles. On Twitter, I 'follow' and regularly read
posts from Copyblogger;
Mashable;
Business Insider;
The Entrepreneur;
etc. Most of these sites enjoy huge 'followings' on social media, especially
on Twitter and Facebook, so you'd be spoilt for choice.
What
is important is to be disciplined enough to read regularly and widely, (yes
even outside your field). Perfect this habit and watch your writing skills become
more polished and your content, richer.
2) Write often even when you doubt your ability

Write every other day if you can manage it.
Since you’ll be required
to write emails multiple times during a workweek, you’ll need to hone the art
of email writing. Emails, once an
informal mode of business communication—second in importance to official
business letters sent via courier in the past—is now increasingly demanded.
Learning how to write powerful business emails that get you desired results
is a discernible advantage you will have over your peers.
If
you deal with sensitive information or if your clients/business partners demand
a certain degree of formality in their communications, formal writing skills are crucial for effectiveness.
Given that writing with clarity is an important goal of successful communication, this post from Inc. provides four simple tips you should use to write with clarity and substance.
Note
also that storytelling
is a valuable tool for creating content that influences your target audience to
take action. It's also becoming important for personal and professional brands.
Let's all learn to get it right.
I
'discovered' Quora about a year ago. It is an interesting site whereby
knowledge is shared by professionals from different fields...for free.
Registration is also free, allowing you to choose topics of interest and sign
up for email digests. For example, I stumbled upon a response from Tom Corson Knowles on Quora, where he listed a treasure trove of online and offline resources for writers/authors.
Naturally,
not all of us aspire to become bestselling authors; we simply want to improve our writing chops at work.
Note that what is required for the progress you seek, is a disciplined mindset
and a persevering attitude. Remember that you're responsible for this aspect of
your professional development; therefore make yourself accountable for your
writing.
It
will pay off sooner than you think when you're singled out for a promotion.
Conclusion
I can only hope that the executive
whom I recently coached—whose concerns about writing prompted me to write this
post—would become motivated to try some of the tips given.

It might be relatively easy to develop a
habit of reading regularly and extensively.
Writing, on the other hand, demands
more mental energy and creates anxiety.
I understand completely because I too
have those moments of dread. But take the plunge and begin with the basics: Write shorter sentences, (preferably no longer
than 20 words in the beginning); check your grammar and proofread thoroughly,
(I recommend reading your content audibly after writing); use simple sentence
structures; and watch your punctuation.
Read even if you don't 'feel like it'
and write, even when that inner critic tells you you're no good.
And this is how you become a better
writer over time.
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Need help with improving your
communication skills?
Hire
me for:
- Communications
training sessions for your executives;
- Writing assignments (content creation,
executive speeches, etc.);
- Speeches and keynote presentations at your
corporate events.
Let
me help you get results.
Contact me:
B)
Call for a free consultation:
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International: +234 704 631
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-------------------------
N.B- First image courtesy of Stuart Miles; via
freedigitalphotos.net. Second image courtesy of Bluebay; via
freedigitalphotos.net. Third image courtesy of Adamr; via freedigitalphots.net.
Fourth image courtesy of Iosphere; via freedigitalphotos.net. Last image courtesy
of Master Isolated Images; via freedigitalphotos.net.
Yes, these tips really motivated a lot to read a lot of useful books to be a good writer. Especially I liked the second tip more which states—write often even when you doubt your ability. Yes, this is one of the crucial things for writing you’ve mentioned. What happens is, sometimes we feel we can do anything, and sometimes think no, it’s not possible with me! The moment you think this negative thing in your mind, take a test of yourself instantly. You’ll see the magic there. The negative statement will turn into a positive approach for sure!
ReplyDeleteHello Anand.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment.
Yes, self-doubt is a major obstacle to actually writing and sometimes we just have to quash those negative feelings and just get on with it.
Pop back soon!
Everything we do has something to do with communication. Often we think it is something that happens when we are talking or listening. We accept that the person hearing the information doesn't necessarily need to be present (e.g. watching the television or listening on the radio) but we know that for communication to have taken place, something must have happened within the listener. It also has to do with understanding the intent of the person speaking and acceptance of that information or the meaning intended by the speaker.dcitltd
ReplyDeleteInteresting perspective on communication. Thanks for your comment Rose.
ReplyDelete