Common Sense Ideas for Becoming the Career Star You Are Meant to Be

Today is Thursday, so this post is about communication skills.  Writing is an important communication skill.  Unfortunately many of us learned bad writing habits in our high school English classes.  Clarity and brevity at the two most important hallmarks of good business writing. 

Read on for my advice on becoming an excellent writer…

Miss Myrtle Tremblay was my senior year high school English teacher.  Miss Tremblay was 65 years old, and retired the year I graduated.  She was a legend at the school, and was renowned for preparing her students to do well in college English courses.  I had her for the first two periods of the day.  One period was devoted to grammar and writing.  One was devoted to literature – reading important works and writing about them.  It was a lot of writing. 

We wrote one or two papers a week.  Every week, my papers came back marked “Vary sentence beginning -10”; “Vary sentence structure -10”.  Miss Tremblay was big on starting sentences with phrases and clauses, and using simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.  I’m a straightforward guy.  My style was, and is, simple sentences – subject, verb, object. 

Guess what?  Miss Tremblay was wrong when it came to the kind of writing most of us will need in our careers.  Compound-complex sentences may make for beautiful literature, but they are not meant for good business communication

So, become a clear, concise writer.  Writing is another important career enhancing communication skill.  As with presenting, there are a few easy to learn and follow rules that will make your writing stand out from the crowd.

Make your writing easy to read and easy to understand.  Small words and short sentences are better than large words and complex sentences.   Write like you speak.  Imagine that you’re speaking to your reader.  When you’re finished writing, read the document out loud to see how it sounds.  Write with your reader in mind.  Put yourself in their shoes.  Ask yourself: What do they know about this topic? What do they expect and need from this document?   A good rule -- be clear, concise and human.  Remember, a person is going to read what you’ve written.  Write with him or her in mind.

Use simple straightforward language.  Everyday, simple words are best.  Never use a multisyllabic word when a simple one will do.  Explain jargon as you go along, or provide a glossary of terms at the end of the document.  Better yet, avoid jargon if at all possible.

Use the active voice.  Say “I suggest we do this”; rather than “It is suggested that…”  Keep your sentences short.  The subject, verb, object sentence structure is best.  It’s usually best to stick to one idea per sentence.  Be brief, but use the correct amount of words you need to adequately make your point.  While short sentences are best, sometimes a long sentence is the right way to communicate.

Break some rules.  For example, it’s fine to begin a sentence with the word “and” or “but”.  In school you were probably taught to avoid this.  But by breaking a rule occasionally, you will become a better communicator.

Now a few grammar points: beware of tricky words.  Know the difference between its (the possessive) and it’s (the contraction of “it is”), and your (the possessive of you) and you’re (the contraction of “you are”).  Use “can” to show that something is possible.  Use “may” to show that something is permitted.  Use “compare to” to emphasize similarities.  Use “compare with” to emphasize differences.  Use “fewer” when describing individual objects that can be counted.  Use “less” when describing collective terms that can be measured but not counted.  For example: “I had less money, so I had fewer coins in my pocket”.

Make sure you read out loud what you have written.  This will help you identify awkward language and phrasing.  Make your writing look easy to read.  Short sentences and paragraphs result in more white space on the page, and look easier to read. 

Finally, read.  Most published writers follow the basic rules of clear writing.  You can learn a lot by seeing how the pros do it.  Copy the styles and techniques that appeal to you.  Buy a copy of “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White.  Refer to it often for grammar and punctuation questions.  Use your spell check function.  But remember, spell check won’t catch the difference between the words “there” and “their”.  Proofread your document after spell checking it.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my other blog www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a business, and my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.