Write for Business - Blog

Tiger Woods can make every shot, from towering drives to delicate bump and runs. His ability to make crucial shots, especially nasty 12-foot putts, during the finishing holes of major tournaments is off the charts. What impresses me, too, is how Woods conducts himself during a tournament. He goes about his business on the course with focus, dignity, and grace, and off the course he is equally impressive, coming across as very personable, yet professional in interviews (and he is always being interviewed).

Think of voice as the way that you conduct yourself in your business writing. If your voice presents you as a personable, yet professional individual, someone who seems focused and in control, then you are communicating in the right way. If you need help with voice, consider these tips. (You're on your own with your golf game.)

• Aim for the business middle. Write as if you were in a professional conversation with your working peers, not too informal and cliquish nor too formal and stilted. (See my blog entry "The Business Middle.")
• Know your purpose and audience. When you write a bad-news letter, you should speak in one way. When you write a quarterly progress report, you should speak in another way. Adjust your voice accordingly to the left or the right of the business middle.
• Know what you're talking about. Before you start a piece of business writing, gather all of the essential facts and details about your topic. Then, and only then, will you be able to write about it with confidence.
• Be sincere. You can't (or shouldn't) always say exactly what you feel. Just try to be as genuine as possible within the constraints of the writing situation. Your writing will be well received if it sounds as if the communication is important to you.
• Speak simply and directly. Long ago, Mark Twain said that using "plain, simple language" is the best way to write. Time has done absolutely nothing to diminish the importance of his advice. Simplicity is next to godliness in business writing. If your writing absolutely demands technical or highly specialized terms, use them as sparingly as possible.
• Use simple sentences. To speak simply and directly, you need to use simple sentences. Long, complex sentences are usually associated with writing the leans more to the right in terms of formality.
• Vary your sentences. Yes, I am speaking out of both sides of my mouth. But too many simple sentences in a row can sound predictable and impersonal. When you find a stretch of sentences that sound too much alike, vary some of the beginnings or combine a few of them. This will significantly improve the readability of your ideas.
• Create the proper image. Your writing - voice and content - should reflect favorably on you and your company. This will happen if you follow the previous tips.

Final thought: If you're just starting out, have a trusted colleague review your writing for voice. Ask this person to note parts that work well and parts where you could sound more confident, knowledgeable, and/or sincere.

- Dave Kemper

Alter means "to change something"; altar is "a table or raised area used in worship."

The secretary altered the form of the company letterhead.

The couple stood in front of the altar.

(From Write for Business, page 224, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 36)

Alright is an incorrect form of all right.

(Please note that the following words are spelled correctly: always, altogether, already, almost.)

(From Write for Business, page 223, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 36)

Many times writers make the mistake of doubling a subject, a preposition, or a negative. In these cases, the doubling increases neither your reader's pleasure nor your writing's acumen. Let's look at each of these two-time losers individually.

Double subjects occur when a pronoun is inserted directly after the subject. One example would be John, he won't be happy with the changes. Whether spoken or written, this construction is incorrect. Drop the pronoun for a smooth, correct sentence: John won't be happy with the changes.

The double negative is an age-old problem, because, as the saying goes, two negatives make a positive. For example, if you were to say There isn't no way that bill will pass, you would actually be saying that the bill will certainly pass. Instead, drop one of the negative elements, as in There is no way that bill will pass.

The last nonstandard construction to consider is the double preposition. There are actually two incorrect ways to double your prepositions. The first involves using two consecutive prepositions when only one is necessary. Examples are off of and off to. Instead of saying Pens roll off of the desk, simply say, Pens roll off the desk. And instead of saying I'm flying off to the convention, say, I'm flying to the convention.

The second incorrect doubling involves using a preposition within the sentence and again at the end. Here is an example: It was a mystery of which he knew nothing about. Eliminating either one of the prepositions - "of" or "about" - corrects the sentence: It was a mystery of which he knew nothing, or It was a mystery which he knew nothing about.

You can learn more about nonstandard constructions on page 97 in Business and Sales Correspondence, just one of the E-Z series of helpful business writing materials from UpWrite Press.

- Joyce Lee

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