Workplace Writing
Writing comes into an entrepreneur’s day in many ways and most small-business owners have a lot of writing to do. Every day people create content to get things done and good effective writing will help.
Here are a few tips to write more prolifically.
1. Look at the Facts
- Who is your audience?
- What form are you writing? (For example, a memo, a letter, a blog, an email, or a proposal.)
- What is your estimated word count?
2. Ask yourself, what is my intent?
3. What is my theme?
4. Once you’ve worked out those details: brainstorm. Take notes and organize your ideas. What are the key points you want to make that will support your topic?
5. Write your first draft – and don’t worry about grammar, just get it out.
6. Voice: Your voice is authentic when you speak and it’s the same when you write. It’s your personality. Speak honestly and naturally, so the real you comes through.
6. Re-write and revise. Ernest Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is shit.” I agree. The best writers are those who revise and polish their work to be the best it can be. The number of times will depend on the piece itself.
7. Word Choice: Don’t assume your readers will understand your industry’s vocabulary. If a word is industry specific, take the time to define it to help your readers along.
8. Once you feel you’ve done the best you can, use this rubric as a checklist to evaluate your writing. Does the writing …
- focus on the subject.
- develop a clearly expressed purpose.
- include a clear beginning, middle, and ending.
- arrange the details logically with good transitions.
- display varied sentence lengths and a variety of beginnings.
- have correct punctuation.
- have correct spelling. (Use US, UK or CAD – the golden rule is – don’t mix.)
I’m also a firm believer in the more you read the better you write. When you read, study the language for detail; for example, how is the writer using capital letters, commas … ? And so on.
Yours in scribing!