In business writing, you don’t receive extra credit for slathering your sentences with fancy phrases, the way you did in college. Do that in a memo or e-mail, and you can expect eyes to glaze over.
What you cut from your writing is often more important than what you add to it.
1. Cut the fat. For example:
Replace: on a daily basis
With: daily
Replace: until such time as
With: until
Replace: at the present time
With: now
Replace: for the purpose of
With: for
2. Avoid redundancy. For example:
Replace: close proximity
With: near
Replace: basic fundamentals
With: fundamentals
Replace: after the conclusion of
With: after
Replace: absolutely necessary
With: necessary
3. Shun “hedging” words. Either it is or it isn’t. Avoid phrases such as:
“It has been reported that”
“It is generally considered that”
“Allegedly”
“Contrary to many”
4. Delete phrases that don’t add substance. For example:
“I would like to take this opportunity”
“It has come to my attention that”
“It is interesting to note that”
“As a matter of fact”
“With all due respect”
5. Replace fancy-sounding words with familiar, simple ones that won’t make your readers stumble.
Replace: ascertain
With: find out
Replace: disseminate
With: send out
Replace: consummate
With: complete
Replace: precipitated
With: caused
Replace: nonfunctional
With: broken
Business Writing That Gets Results also includes an Appendix, “13 Quick Tips to Polish Your Business Writing,” a collection of best-practices articles from Business Management Daily.Topics covered include:
- The key difference between business writing and all other written communications
- The most common errors in style and usage
- How to structure a presentation or report to get the results you want
- When to use a table and when to use a graphic
- The best approach to revision and why it is so important
- What you need to check before you click “send”
- And much more!
