Tweet

Communication Skills And Effective Writing Must Include Meticulous Self-Editing

Written by: Dave Griffiths

Article Overview: No matter how clever and succinct you may be at business writing and effective communication in general, you risk blowing it if you don't edit yourself. By edit, I mean proofreading for grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc., as well as revising or rewriting. You can do the latter as you go, or you can let your words flow, then give it several careful reads before hitting the "send" button or printing it out and offering it to your client, customer, boss, vendor, coworkers, etc. Why? Because that's you doing the business communications in the email or report. As such, assuming you care about your image or reputation, your writing skills should appear both professional and natural. Or, to put it more tellingly in the words of the great novelist Toni Morrison: "The language must be careful and appear effortless. It must not sweat."

Communication Skills And Effective Writing Must Include Meticulous Self-Editing

This Stuff Just Cracks Me Up

"The little boat drifted gently across the pond exactly the way a bowling bowl wouldn't." ~ High school essay, Springfield, Va.

Yes, I know that hilariously awkward analogies don't exactly fit in an articledevoted to clear and efficient business communications. But I also know that nothing loosens up one of my business writing skills seminars like a good laugh at what a fellow human being can do with the English language, like this from a Woodbridge, Va., student: "His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free."

For an even odder slant, have a look at this:

"Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too.

"I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be

in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!"

As it says in the intro, 55 percent of us, myself included, can read this straight through and get the point. I have no earthly idea what that says about us. I just found it intriguing enough to share.

But Seriously, Folks...Be A Meticulous Self-Editor

Moving right along -- and in direct opposition to my behavior in the preceding article -- I'd like to say a few words about editing, or quality control. No matter how clever and succinct a writer you may be, you risk blowing it if you don't edit yourself. By edit, I mean proofreading for grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc., as well as revising or rewriting. You can do the latter as you go, or you can let your words flow, then give it several careful reads before hitting the "send" button or printing it out and offering it to your client, customer, boss, vendor, coworkers, etc.

Why? Because that's you on the email or report. As such, assuming you care about your image or reputation, it should look both professional and natural. Or, to put it more tellingly in the words of the great novelist Toni Morrison: "The language must be careful and appear effortless. It must not sweat."

How do you get there? Somewhere along the line, I came up with six rules for careful editing. Read them and some may find that you already follow these rules without being aware of it. Others may find that you're not giving self-editing the attention it deserves:

1 -- Read for the message. Does it say what you want it to say? Do you contradict yourself at any point? Is the message clearly stated within the first two or three paragraphs?

2 -- Read again for organization. Are the paragraphs in the right order? When you change topics are you starting a new paragraph? Are you repeating yourself?

3 -- Read at the sentence level. Are they in the right order?

4 -- Read each sentence for internal construction. Is everything parallel (WRONG: He suggested closing loopholes for the rich and rejection of salary increases for government officials. RIGHT: He suggested closing loopholes for the rich and rejecting salary increases for government officials)? Did you use active voice (WRONG: The touchdown pass was thrown by Tom Brady. RIGHT: Tom Brady threw the touchdown pass.)? Does the sentence make sense?

5 -- Read the words. Replace words that don't convey your message. Avoid repetitive use of any word.How do you find more words in your brain? As Stephen King says, "The only way to be a good writer is to read a lot and write a lot."

6 -- Check for and correct errors in punctuation and spelling and typos. Don't rely solely on spell-check.

Related Articles
  Writing Training, Business Communication Training, Presentation Skills Training And Instruction in Effective Communication
  Communication skills and personal development plan
  Presentation And Writing Skills Training Yields Effective Business Communication Skills
  5 tips for clear and effective writing
  Perfecting Workplace Communication Skills – Written Communication

Article Tags: alliances, analogies, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at cmabrigde uinervtisy, bowling, business communications, business writing skills, cna, earthly idea, english language, few words, little boat, mses, quality control, raed tihs, school essay, skills seminars, slant, underpants, wrod, yuo
Referred by: http://www.thepincusgroup.com



Related Forum Posts
Business Coaching Internship Review - I joined in during the first phase of the internship and at this point we are committed to doing research and development of RSC Business Group operating in Toronto. RSC Business Group already has products and services in Coaching Small businesses in Los Angeles but we didn't want to assume that the same products were wanted and needed in the Toronto market. Our goal at this point is to commit to interviewing 1000 business owners to capture this data. Through the teleconference internship I've been involved in we've been focusing on Communication Skills and on active listening which are practiced when we conduct our interviews and Coach our clients when they come on board. This is a lot harder than it sounds! Part of the internship is also creating the Toronto RSC Business Group's departments, job descriptions, Marketing and Communication plans etc that a business owner would create for their own company. This trains us in the way we would coach a company as well. The internship is phased in two parts and there is compensation plan involved as well for the clients you personally bring in. These clients are coached directly by Robert Chun as you begin but you are given a chance to learn his techniques. I haven't gone through this experience yet though. It's hard to explain Robert Chun's method of Coaching as it happens at a psychological level in his ability to listen and question the person being coached into the next steps they need to take. The Teleconferences are 2 hours long but it's very interactive. If you have a desire to explore this area of Business I'd recommend contacting Vwodek listed above and get invited to a Coaching Conference call. You can decided then if it's for you. Note: it is a commitment but the skills you walk away with whether you plan on working with RSC Business Group or not is invaluable.
Re: Tactics for Blog Traffic - Include bookmarking too.
Re: Five Personality Traits of Successful Business Owners - 1. Focus 2. Ability to Adapt 3. Hard Work 4. Good planning 5. People Skills
Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vision Values Mission Strategic Thinking Decision Making Communication Team Bonding People Development Coaching / Mentoring / Guiding / Grooming Presentation Thanks Robert
Re: What Do You Outsource Mostly? - Writing, Article Spinning, Backlinking.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Ready for a Fresh Image?

Sales Courage and Resilience

Anger Solutions at Work: Why Customers Get Angry

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.