Writing for Business Success/Effective business writing/Clarity
| “ | Clarity in business writing is not a luxury. | ” |
| —Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group | ||
Precision
Business communication should be clear, specific, and full of meaning. Work to be precise.
| Avoid | Try |
|---|---|
| Capable of greeting many customers while attending to a multi-line phone. | Capable of greeting 25 customers an hour, while managing incoming phone lines for six district managers. |
| Your order has been received and will ship shortly. | Order number 1234, received August 1, ships on August 5. You should receive the order on August 8. |
Plain Words
When trying to enhance your reputation, it is tempting to use complex words in order to appear smart and sophisticated. Unfortunately, this tends to obscure your ideas and potentially damage your credibility. Remember the focus of your writing should be on the reader understanding the message. Instead of focusing on “sounding smart,” concentrate on expressing accurate content with precise, unambiguous words so that the message is transmitted clearly. Be precise while understandable.
| Avoid | Try |
|---|---|
| It seemed as if the lawyer was trying to obfuscate the meaning. | It seemed as if the lawyer was trying to confuse the meaning. |
| The remuneration the contractor receives is commensurate with the time and materials used. | The pay the contractor receives is equal to the time and materials used. |
Lists
Lists can be used in several ways. Working with numbered lists or bulleted lists is a fast way to draw attention to several items. Lists add white space to a document, which helps the reader. They add emphasis because they stand out on the page. Numbered lists are used when order of importance matters.
| Avoid | Try | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The store needs several items to process the refund for the incorrect billing. If you have the receipt, we’ll need that. After you find the receipt, circle the incorrect payment and add the voided check to the envelope. Remember that a stamped return envelope will get your money back more quickly. Please be sure to add that. | To process your refund, the store needs several pieces of documentation. Please do the following:
Include all items with your request. |
A numbered list provides the correct order and structure for the reader. It creates white space in the message. |
| When you go to the store, can you remember to get the items I need for my recipe? I forgot to get one orange, eggs for the mix (2), and the red for the icing ,so I’ll need one bottle of red food coloring. | At the store, please purchase:
|
It’s likely the shopper only needs to know what to buy, not why to buy it. |
Emphasis
The correct amount of emphasis in business communications can help readers easily access the intended message. However, what is considered appropriate emphasis can differ drastically in this age of texting and social media. Remember that business communications are a part of a professional setting. While humans write the communications, the situation remains one company communicating to another or to a customer. This is not a personal communication that might include emotion or symbols for emotions. Avoid Try Why ABC Company loves the opportunity to fill your Pick n Pack order. ABC Company appreciates the opportunity to fill your Pick n Pack order. “Love” is an intense human emotion, not the emotion of a thing—a company. Allied Sales is so sorry and apologizes for the trouble the late delivery caused your pets. Allied Sales shipped the late order at its own expense with overnight delivery to make up for the missed shipment. Apologizing can bring blame upon a company. Avoid doing so unless you consult the corporation’s lawyer.
The company may not be all that sorry if the customer did not allow sufficient time. Move to the solution rather than increasing the focus on what went wrong. Your order is appreciated!!! Your order is appreciated. The exclamation mark is clearly a mark of personal enthusiasm. Yet, most business communication is that “thing”—the company—rather than a human communicating. The introduction of this symbol in to business writing is relatively new. It can make the writer seem immature in the workplace. Please see the corporate request. There are FIVE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER. Please see the corporate request. There are five questions to answer. Using all capital letters is construed as yelling at someone. This effect is further magnified when it comes in a downward message. Write well enough that the words communicate meaning clearly. Recently, employees have erroneously entered wired rather than rewired on service orders. Recently employees have erroneously entered wired rather than rewired on service orders. Use of Italic font provides emphasis without the startling impact of all capital letters. She wanted to be called Susan not Sue. She wanted to be called Susan not Sue. Use of bold font provides emphasis without the startling impact of all capital letters. If a RX5 cable is shipped an EU45 must be shipped at the same time. If a RX5 cable is shipped an EU45 must be shipped at the same time. Use of underline font provides emphasis without the startling impact of all capital letters.
In the examples above, notice how italic, bold, or underlined fonts all provide emphasis in a similar fashion. Any of the three are equally helpful, and the choice should be made based on what the organization or the writer prefers.
The analogy that best suits emphasis in a message is to think of salt in food. Some salt is tremendously helpful and enhances the dish. Too much salt is off-putting and may even be sickening.
Acknowledgements
The content on this page was adapted from Word choice and tone, authored by Susan Kendall and provided by Lumen Learning under a CC-BY-4.0 licence. The content is part of the online course Business communication skills for managers.
