How To Say It With Less - Business Writing for Today's Technology

DISCLOSURE: WIFI did not get paid to write this post. The Author, Melissa, paid for this product with her own money for personal and professional development. Melissa only references Shirley Taylor's Online Virtual Training because she has used it personally and feels it would be a good fit for WIFI members and readers. The links you click are NOT affiliate links, which means we will not get paid if you visit the links or make a purchase.

During my primary and secondary education I was taught to write a certain way. I was never prepared for business writing for today's technology. Of course, this is all hindsight.

Over the past 20 years in the workforce, 17 of those years in the fastener industry, it's time for a change in my business writing style, specifically emails. Honestly, my email style was a topic of discussion for many years (about eight).

For some reason, I just couldn't see the light. Colleagues kept telling me my emails were too long. Last year when I heard it again from a leader and mentor, something finally clicked. So, I looked up business writing and somehow ended up at Shirley Taylor's Online Virtual Training.

After researching her books and checking out reviews, I decided to invest my own money in Program 1: Getting Your Message Across Effectively. It was reasonably priced and I could do it on my own time.

The biggest thing I learned was using plain English and that the Thesaurus was not my best friend. What is the point of using lofty "filler" words? After completing the course, I started analyzing my sentences. I would ask myself the question, is this necessary to get the point across?

Of course, this is a blog post, not a business email, but to give you an example, let's take the the past few sentences I wrote.

BEFORE // After completing the course, I started analyzing my sentences. I would ask myself the question, is this necessary to get the point across?

AFTER // The course helped me analyze my sentences. I asked myself, "Is this necessary to get the point across?".

While it's just a wee bit shorter, imagine an entire paragraph rewritten. It would be much easier to read.

For some reason, it still didn't click all the way, until I started a new job in the fastener industry in December 2016. We've got a lot of things going on right now: two new locations, lots of new customers, an impending system conversion and more.

If you send me a long email, there is a good chance I will skim it for action items. If there are no action items, it gets re-prioritized. I'm sure there are good points in the email, but we all just need to get to the point. If you have to start your email with apology for the length, start over.

At the end of the day, Shirley Taylor's Online Virtual Training taught me to write for my audience and that if something is not necessary to convey the message, remove it, along with many other things.

With the number of channels we all have to manage in daily business, writing a to-the-point and effective business email is of utmost importance, especially since we all send and receive so many per day.

Here are the topics you can look forward to in Program 1.

Course 1: 21st Century Business Writing (35 min)