Write Right: How to stop writing like a dropout and start writing like a pro
Write Right: How to stop writing like a dropout and start writing like a pro
After all, for many of us, it’s been a while. For others, they never learned it. Curricula have changed, and most kids schooled in the last 25 years have never even diagrammed a sentence. Add the speedy demands of e-mail and text-messaging, and no wonder writing today is the literary equivalent of fast food: slapped together, full of fat, and hard to digest.
To compound matters, we live in a rush-rush world where improving our writing is like cleaning the basement. We know it needs to be done, but things pile up and bad follows bad. In other words, familiarity breeds unkempt—which is exactly what happens when our grammatical slips are showing.
Making mumbo-jumbo
Our letters, reports, e-mail—1.4 trillion e-mails last year alone—are getting sloppier by the day. We’ve lost the ability to string clear, concise thoughts together—a malady some call “corporatespeak.”
“Inasmuch as the process, if accelerated through the strategic channels in the
allotted timeframe, will leverage our deployment as an immeasurable uniqueness
in the marketplace.”
Translation: “If we hurry up, we can get there first.”
M.B.A. programs and business schools recently have added writing classes to their curriculum. That means we’re in good company, so without blame or shame, let’s brush up on writing basics.
Write the way you talk
Conversational writing is in. Large words and convoluted sentences don’t get the message across. Write in an open, honest style. In turn, you’ll increase sales, eliminate misunderstandings, and achieve goals faster.
Overcome fears
Even after 25 years as a journalist, I still blanch at a blank screen. The best antidote? Just start. Anywhere. When facing an important letter, e-mail, or sales proposal, start with a brain dump. Get all your thoughts down on paper or screen, then push them around into a logical sequence. There, you’ve got a first draft.
OK, it’s terrible, but guess what? Everyone writes terrible first drafts. Anne Lamott makes the case for them in her bestselling book, Bird by Bird.
"Now …even better news… is the idea of [dreadful] first drafts. All good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts. … I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts.…"
Feel better? Now, spend time editing. Not long tedious stretches—just enough to run through it once for accuracy. Next time, make it more concise. Then add a little creativity. Your readers will reward you by reading to the end and responding to your requests. (You are letting them know what you want, aren’t you?)
Law and order
The pain of not writing well begins to throb when it lands us in jail. When someone complains about his boss in an e-mail, that document could be discoverable in litigation. Remember that no matter what you write, it’s permanently in your computer. Best advice: don’t say anything in a letter or e-mail that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times.
More than a resume
More businesses are getting wise to good writing. Some are even requiring pre-employment writing tests. That means once you jump through the cover-letter-resume hurdle, you still may have to prove that you can dot your Is and cross your Ts. And why not? If you apply for a job at ESPN, they’ll ask about your knowledge of sports. Since our ever-expanding lust for technology ensures that just about everyone will be writing at work, it only makes sense for companies to expect employees to do it good, er, well.
Get it Write: Eight tips to jumpstart your writing and polish your prose.
1. Relax. Write conversationally. Tell it like a story.
2. Dump your ideas. Get everything down and arrange in logical order.
3. First drafts aren’t really writing—they’re thought organizers.
4. Let them know what you want through strong conclusions and compelling calls to action.
5. Edit, edit, and edit some more until the document is clear and concise.
6. Get creative: Use vivid verbs rather than boring “is, are, was, were.”
7. Take Albert Einstein’s advice: Don’t memorize anything you can look up. Buy a good reference guide (such as Strunk & White’s "Elements of Style") and use it--regularly.
8. Sleep on it—then edit again. Mistakes jump off the page.
Write Right How to stop writing like a dropout and start writing like a pro - To learn more about this author, visit Lynda McDaniel's Website.
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Remember the Battle of Hastings? Maybe a fuzzy 1066. How about trigonometry? Doubtful. So why do we feel guilty about not remembering Ms. McGuire’s 10th-grade English class?
After all, for many of us, it’s been a while. For others, they never learned it. Curricula have changed, and most kids schooled in the last 25 years have never even diagrammed a sentence. Add the speedy demands of e-mail and text-messaging, and no wonder writing today is the literary equivalent of fast food: slapped together, full of fat, and hard to digest.
To compound matters, we live in a rush-rush world where improving our writing is like cleaning the basement. We know it needs to be done, but things pile up and bad follows bad. In other words, familiarity breeds unkempt—which is exactly what happens when our grammatical slips are showing.
Making mumbo-jumbo
Our letters, reports, e-mail—1.4 trillion e-mails last year alone—are getting sloppier by the day. We’ve lost the ability to string clear, concise thoughts together—a malady some call “corporatespeak.”
“Inasmuch as the process, if accelerated through the strategic channels in the
allotted timeframe, will leverage our deployment as an immeasurable uniqueness
in the marketplace.”
Translation: “If we hurry up, we can get there first.”
M.B.A. programs and business schools recently have added writing classes to their curriculum. That means we’re in good company, so without blame or shame, let’s brush up on writing basics.
Write the way you talk
Conversational writing is in. Large words and convoluted sentences don’t get the message across. Write in an open, honest style. In turn, you’ll increase sales, eliminate misunderstandings, and achieve goals faster.
Overcome fears
Even after 25 years as a journalist, I still blanch at a blank screen. The best antidote? Just start. Anywhere. When facing an important letter, e-mail, or sales proposal, start with a brain dump. Get all your thoughts down on paper or screen, then push them around into a logical sequence. There, you’ve got a first draft.
OK, it’s terrible, but guess what? Everyone writes terrible first drafts. Anne Lamott makes the case for them in her bestselling book, Bird by Bird.
"Now …even better news… is the idea of [dreadful] first drafts. All good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts. … I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts.…"
Feel better? Now, spend time editing. Not long tedious stretches—just enough to run through it once for accuracy. Next time, make it more concise. Then add a little creativity. Your readers will reward you by reading to the end and responding to your requests. (You are letting them know what you want, aren’t you?)
Law and order
The pain of not writing well begins to throb when it lands us in jail. When someone complains about his boss in an e-mail, that document could be discoverable in litigation. Remember that no matter what you write, it’s permanently in your computer. Best advice: don’t say anything in a letter or e-mail that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times.
More than a resume
More businesses are getting wise to good writing. Some are even requiring pre-employment writing tests. That means once you jump through the cover-letter-resume hurdle, you still may have to prove that you can dot your Is and cross your Ts. And why not? If you apply for a job at ESPN, they’ll ask about your knowledge of sports. Since our ever-expanding lust for technology ensures that just about everyone will be writing at work, it only makes sense for companies to expect employees to do it good, er, well.
Get it Write: Eight tips to jumpstart your writing and polish your prose.
1. Relax. Write conversationally. Tell it like a story.
2. Dump your ideas. Get everything down and arrange in logical order.
3. First drafts aren’t really writing—they’re thought organizers.
4. Let them know what you want through strong conclusions and compelling calls to action.
5. Edit, edit, and edit some more until the document is clear and concise.
6. Get creative: Use vivid verbs rather than boring “is, are, was, were.”
7. Take Albert Einstein’s advice: Don’t memorize anything you can look up. Buy a good reference guide (such as Strunk & White’s "Elements of Style") and use it--regularly.
8. Sleep on it—then edit again. Mistakes jump off the page.
Write Right How to stop writing like a dropout and start writing like a pro - To learn more about this author, visit Lynda McDaniel's Website.
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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