Write for Business - Blog

Sociologists say that when someone joins a long-standing community, that person is always viewed as "the newcomer," even decades later. The one exception is the person who remains awhile, goes away, and then comes back to stay. For some reason, the human psyche is designed to view this second person as "an old-timer."

As a parallel, a bad-news situation in business can actually become good news. It can be used to create a stronger bond between people, if the communication is handled correctly.

Consider: Which of the following suppliers would you be most comfortable with?

1. Someone who's Web site and catalog look great, with many glowing testimonials, but with whom you have no experience
2. Someone you purchased from before, with no problem, but who can be contacted only via an online form
3. Someone you purchased from before, who once delayed an order due to a materials defect, but who personally phoned and/or e-mailed you immediately to notify, explain, and apologize

Assuming the problems with hypothetical supplier #3 aren't regular, I'd predict you might feel most comfortable doing business there. That personal phone call or e-mail with its confession of error actually builds trust in a way that perfection cannot, because a perfect record gives no indication of how problems will be handled when they do occur.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that you go creating problems to solve just to build trust in your business dealings. However, when a problem does arise, you can look at it as an opportunity instead of a disaster. A quick confession, followed by a confident solution, can make you part of a trusted community far more than mere perfection can.

How does this idea match up with your own experience? Do you have an example of a disaster turned into a gem? We'd love to hear about it. Click to comment below.

- Lester Smith

Photo by boo_licious

Reprinted by permission from www.jrobertking.com

Given that I am not a digital native, or even an early adopter, or even a non-NeoLuddite, some of my friends ask me why I tweet.

To answer that question, I first need to answer a few built-in objections:

Objection 1: Isn’t Twitter just a bunch of people telling other people about the baloney sandwich they are eating?

Answer 1: Twitter is sometimes a bunch of people telling other people about the baloney sandwich they are eating. At other times, Twitter is a South African writer phenom telling about the murder of her charr lady’s daughter and inspiring a global network of friends (including me) to help pay for the funeral.

Objection 2: You can’t say anything worthwhile in 140 characters.

Answer 2: Ever hear of haiku? Ever hear of veni, vidi, vici? Ever hear “that we here highly resolve…that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”  Those all could have been tweets. In fact, the best writers can say what they want to in very few words. Consider Hemingway’s six-word novel: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Objection 3: Isn’t Twitter all about misspelling things and using crippled English?

Answer 3: No.

But enough of answering objections. Let me tell you why I tweet:

Reason 1: My boss made me. I work for a company that develops texts that teach writing and communication in schools and businesses. My boss, who is younger than I and more visionary, said, “This is the way people are writing and communicating now. You have to figure it out.” He was right, and I have.

Reason 2: My editors said I had to. The amazing Marc Gascoigne and Lee Harris and Phil Athans all basically said that if I didn’t begin engaging in social media, I couldn’t hope to stay relevant. They were, of course, right, and I have engaged.

Reason 3: It works. I am not an early adopter. I’m a person who insists that new technology be cheap, powerful, and intuitive before I will jump in. Twitter–filtered through Hootsuite–is all those things for me.

Reason 4: It’s the party I’ve always wanted to attend. Since I learned of the Algonquin Round Table–where luminaries such as Dorothy Parker and James Thurber and Alex Woolcott and Harpo Marx met and quipped and drank–I have longed to be invited to such a meeting of the minds. In fact, after reading about the Inklings–the author’s group formed by J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and their Oxford croneys–I established my own group of writers–the Alliterates. Google us. There are dozens of Alliterates scattered across the U.S., meeting once a month to share a few beers and many stories about our lives with writing.

And Twitter is the next evolution of that model. I’m already connected to some of the coolest writers on the planet, from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, South Africa, and Australia. And every day, I follow new minds. and they follow me. And I am in conversation with some of the greatest new talents rising up the ranks as I did twenty years ago.

That’s why I tweet. It’s the Algonquin Round Table and the Inklings and the Alliterates all digitized. I can listen to other brilliant minds, can cheer their successes, can commiserate their challenges, can aid them in time of great need–and can show them pictures of me as Juliet on stage.

Yeah, Twitter is talking about baloney sandwiches. But it’s also talking about life, the universe, and everything. It’s about friendship with some of the coolest people on the planet.

And, follow me on Twitter @jrobertking.com.

Also follow my company @UpWritePress @cerickson @LesterSmith @Tims2cents

And follow the Alliterates @brucecordell @frabjousdave @jamie1km @jrobertking @LesterSmith @monkeyking @mforbeck @MonteJCook @sdsullivan @stannex @TSRThomas

And follow these Angry Robot authors and editors @MarcGascoigne @LeeAHarris @MauriceBroaddus @mforbeck @Shevdon @mforbeck @jrobertking @KaaronWarren @laurenbeukes @AndyRemic @ColinHarvey @AlietteDB @GuyAdams @lavietidhar

And follow other cool folks @DavesFandSFW @ghostfinder @HarryMarkov @NextRead @Steve_Ince @ScottvHarrison @CraigWFSmith @Paulskemp @BennyBoo @Hagelrat @ALRutter @LizUK @WombatSam @CharlieHuman @stevemosby @pauljessup @mightymur @crystaljigsaw @historyinanhour @e_cunningham @darylwriterguy @selfavowedgeek @stacylwhitman @JoanDeLaHaye @jimchines @DFReview @YetiStomper @pbdp @LilyOak

Aw, heck, there are too many great people to follow. Just start tweeting and join my party and throw a party of your own.

Image courtesy of BUBBLEARMY at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bubblefriends/3658969795/

One inherent difficulty in writing is predicting what a reader will need. Frankly, both writer and reader come to a text with blind spots: with assumptions about the subject, presuppositions about word meanings, and so on. Somehow they must negotiate to a common understanding.

Picture two old pocket combs, both with bent or missing teeth in a random spots. Hold them up facing each other, and although many teeth connect from one comb to the other, the gaps represent spots of confusion. On the writer's comb, a gap is missing information - usually because the writer assumes the reader already knows it. On the reader's comb, a gap is inability to process information that's there, perhaps because of unfamiliar terminology.

Practiced writers grow progressively better at recognizing their own gaps and at predicting their readers'. But that practice comes from failure: from the blank look in a reader's eyes, or an e-mail response asking for clarification, or (unfortunately) from some important piece of business simply not taking place. The important thing is that they follow up on their writing and learn from these misunderstandings.

So don't let writing spook or frustrate you. Give each new writing task your best, recognizing that while your comb is missing some teeth, so is your reader's. To help fill in the gaps, take time to request a colleague's feedback on important pieces before they go public. Start a habit of rereading your outgoing e-mail before clicking "send." Practice communicating on blogs and message boards, where you can learn from other people's questions how well you've made your point.

Why not start by commenting below? How did this comb metaphor work for you?

- Lester Smith

Photo by portableantiquities

Chances are you recognize in the title above a reference to the 2002 movie. (If not, definitely go rent My Big Fat Greek Wedding and watch it with someone you love.) What I'd like to point out here is that the adjectives in that title follow a particular order. You can't rearrange them: "Fat Blog Greek Big My Post," for example, just doesn't make any sense. "My Greek Fat Big Blog Post" comes closer, but it still doesn't feel right to native English speakers.

Order of adjectives isn't something we study in school. It isn't even a common topic among grammarians. Instead, it's something native speakers learn by immersion - just absorbing it into our brains throughout childhood - and so come to use without any conscious thought. Imagine having to recall opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose every time you wanted to use more than one adjective.

I'm reminded of the story of the ant and the centipede. The ant asked, "How do you keep track of all those legs?" The centipede considered for a moment, tripped over its own feet, and fell into a ditch.

What does this order-of-adjectives lesson have to teach us about writing? It reminds us that language is primarily a natural, unconscious activity. It is about communication. Focusing on grammar and other mechanics too early in the process can trip us up, make us feel foolish, and stifle our expression.

So write something, and let yourself enjoy it. You can always ask an ant to proofread later.

- Lester Smith

Photo by Andrew

My workstation is a quiet place. As I type these words, all I hear is the dull hum of my computer monitor and the faint ticking of a clock behind me. These are suitable acoustics for a writer. Or at least I think so. But listening to the seconds' hand go tick and tock reminded me of a writing challenge a friend of mine recently encountered where the sound of time passing by wouldn't be so pleasing.

Smack in the middle of a job interview, my friend was given 30 minutes to respond to a writing prompt. She was interviewing for a job in retail pharmacy, a profession in which writing is not often thought of as a required skill set, so she was a bit caught off guard.

Apparently on-site writing tests are gaining popularity as an interview assessment tool for all fields of work, even for jobs that don't often deal with writing. In most cases, the objective of the test is not so much to assess your writing aptitude but to see how well you can communicate ideas, respond to deadline pressure, and deal with unanticipated workplace assignments.

My friend noted the last time she performed on-demand (timed) writing was for an AP English exam in high school. I'm sure many of you are in the same boat. Just as I'm sure the very thought of receiving a writing assignment during a job interview sounds as agreeable as a trip to the DMV or listening to a Lady Gaga album. Thankfully, there are simple strategies you can make use of to make on-demand writing less stressful and the writing product more successful.

Here are five easy steps for taking timed writing tests:

1. Consider how much time you have. Formulate your response based on the time limit. For example, if you have 30 minutes, you will need to budget less time on planning and revising than you would with a 60-minute time limit. For a 30-minute time limit, I suggest setting aside five minutes for planning, twenty minutes for writing, and five minutes for revising.
2. Analyze the prompt. What is the subject of the prompt? What is it asking of you? What audience will most likely read your response?
3. Develop a plan. Before you begin writing, take some time to plan your response. What is your main feeling or thesis regarding the subject? How can you support your view? Consider organizing your ideas and support in a quick outline or numbered list.
4. Relax and write. Focus on getting your ideas down in an organized manner rather than stressing over the perfect word or skillfully crafted sentence. Begin by stating your thesis or main idea. From there, develop body paragraphs based on ideas that support your thesis.
5. Revise for clarity and content. Save enough time to read over your work. Remember, your prompt will be evaluated on clarity and content. So don't sweat the small stuff. Do change any spelling or glaring grammar errors.

Fingers, up! Looks like my time is up for this blog post. Now I'll hand it over to you: Have any of you encountered a timed writing test at work or in a job interview? What strategies worked best for you? As always, comments are welcomed.

- Tim Kemper