Step by Step Guide to Improve Business English Writing A meeting agenda, a newsletter, a report and a response to a complaining customer – these are just some types of business writing every organization deals in on an everyday basis. Sadly, even employees with great English writing skills fail to deliver when it comes to business writing. Why? The most common reason is that they fail to differentiate between the regular write-ups and what business writing demands. And this may cost them dearly in terms of a rejected resume, a lost business bid or a damaged business association. Poor business English writing may also degrade your work performance, especially in the world where a lot is driven by effective communication. To avoid it, here is a guide with the right steps to improve your business writing skills. Step 1: Know what each business write-up requires An employee handbook requires explaining the work culture and policies of an organization to its employees. Memos, on the other hand, need to be briefer with the right balance between informal and professional tones. Emails to the colleagues must have a formal tone. In short, every business writing type is different and you must learn the requirements of each. Step 2: Learn what you need to keep in mind When you sit down for business writing, you should focus on: ● Objective: Be concise in accomplishing the ultimate objective rather than beating around the bush. A press release must make a clear announcement while a newsletter must also be woven around a particular event but has the scope to highlight other details too. ● Audience: A press release is meant for the media outlets while newsletters may have audiences ranging from the internal employees to the clients and customers. Make sure you learn to focus on the needs and expectations of your audience while writing. ● Information: What information must be disclosed and to what extent. Step 3: Improve the important elements To begin with, learn the exact formats for each business writing type. Next, focus on improving grammar, sentence construction and punctuations. Joining a short course in business writing may help you hone these skills. Step 4: Get it reviewed Before asking for reviews from anyone else, a self-review may help you improve a lot. You may single out words that are too complex and replace them with the simpler ones. You may also want to edit out unnecessary things. It may also instil the habit of proofreading. Now, get it reviewed from someone else and work on the feedback received to bring in the improvements.
Remember that improving business writing can be a continuous process. So, you need to practice and improve every single day.