 |
Business Writing Essentials
September 2007 | Volume 5 Issue 9
Effective and clear business writing is crucial to any communicator's job. In this issue of the CW Bulletin, our business writing experts offer quick, practical tips on how to write compelling proposals, efficient e-mails and speeches guaranteed to captivate any audience. We even revisit a staple of the introductory English course: the use of passive voice.
Natasha Nicholson
Executive Editor |
Features
PROPOSAL WRITING
by Daphne Gray-Grant
Earlier in my career proposals crossed my desk every day of the week. They were from writers, market researchers, promotional goods companies, software suppliers, advertisers and organizations looking for sponsorships. Though the subject matter varied, in tone they were all consistent—tedious, annoying and self-serving.
Every once in a while a proposal excelled, and it usually wasn't because it was well written. The strange, underlying truth about proposal writing is that it's not actually about the writing, it's about the thinking.
SPEECHWRITING
by Ken O'Quinn
If you were asked to construct a persuasive message, would you know where to begin?
While many speeches (and written communication) are merely intended to impart information, explain an issue or discuss a point of view, a persuasive message is aimed at getting results. It is intended to influence an audience's thinking so that people comply with your request or support your ideas. Persuading an audience often requires that you overcome opposition or motivate those who are neutral, and many speechwriters find this challenging.
WRITING E-MAIL
by Janis Fisher Chan and Natasha Terk
For many of us, "business writing" now means e-mail. It's the medium we use most often to communicate ideas and information to colleagues, managers, clients and the world at large. We depend on e-mail to get our business done, day in and day out. And if we want the e-mail we send to help us meet our goals, we need to stop thinking of it as something we can just "dash off." We need some rules.
PASSIVE VS ACTIVE VOICE
by Ken O'Quinn
For generations, finger-wagging teachers and corporate managers have cautioned people against writing passive sentences. But this advice is flawed because it is incomplete.The truth is that the passive construction is an essential element of writing and always has been; you simply need to know when to use it and when to avoid it.
Columns
Writing for the Web: Tangled, twisted or straight?
by Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz
Most of us learned to write for the Web by trial and error. If we've worked as communicators for more than 10 years, we came to the Web thoroughly grounded in print media and were challenged to translate those skills into online applications. Those of us who entered the field later may have found writing for the Web more natural, but few have had the benefit of intensive training for it.
Organizing Your Business:
Tracking income, expenses can be a job in itself
by Daria Steigman
It's easy to be a successful independent practitioner. You just have to find clients; execute all your projects with poise, professionalism and expertise; and keep track of both your billable hours and every expense that you incurred along the way.
Simple though the formula may sound, the execution is anything but easy.
Whole Transparent Foods
by Andrew Winston
The bizarre story of Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey is very educational. Mackey was discovered to be using the Internet in ways that he shouldn't. Operating under the name "Rahodeb," Mackey was posting comments—hundreds of them over seven years—on Yahoo Finance investor boards.
But the Mackey fiasco illuminates an even larger trend. Today companies and their CEOs are feeling a combination of pressures from the natural world (climate change, resource constraints) and stakeholders (questions about how the company treats people and the planet).
- "Right to Light Booklet," Georgia Transmission Corporation
- "Delphi Executive Summary," CSC's P2 Communications Services
- "ALTANA Pharma Inc. Sales Podcast," iStudio Canada
Related Resources provides additional articles and resources for understanding this month's topic of business writing. You can also find some of these links alongside each corresponding feature article for quick reference. Links include:
- "Ten Business Writing Blunders You Can Easily Avoid," by Courtland Bovee
- "How to Write and Deliver a Speech That Will Get You Clients," by Caterina Rando
|
This issue sponsored by:
Media measurement is a hot topic because it's the foundation for tracking word-of-mouth, managing corporate reputation and understanding what kind of coverage your brand and its competitors are getting in the press. The new white paper "Best Practices in Media Measurement" by Professor Paul Argenti of Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, is essential reading for any PR or corporate communications professional. Download your copy, sponsored by Dow Jones, today.
Interested in sponsoring an issue of CW Bulletin? Click here for more information.
|
|
Featured Product
