Business Writing | Communicaid - Communication Skills Blog

Need Communication Skills Training? Click Here.

May 09

A New Punctuation and Spelling Test for British Primary Children?

In response to current government thinking that standards in spelling, punctuation and grammar have fallen among British school leavers, the Department for Education plans to introduce an external SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) test that children will take before they leave primary school, as reported by the BBC. Head teachers have responded negatively to this new test questioning its validity and expense and are threatening to boycott its introduction.

A New Punctuation and Spelling Test for British Primary Children?

There has been a huge backlash from teachers and educationalists to the seemingly constant testing that British children are subjected to from a young age. Teachers are now obliged to teach to a narrow interpretation of the national curriculum and the focus is more on passing the tests rather than encouraging broader learning or on developing a curiosity for knowledge and its application. Head teachers are adamant that they and their staff should be trusted to assess and develop children’s writing abilities without resorting to formal testing.

However valid head teachers’ arguments are and however flawed this new test may be, few employers would disagree with the premise that many school leavers and university graduates are joining organisations with a lack of basic writing skills and a very scant knowledge of key principles of grammar, punctuation and spelling. This in turn results either in a very sloppy standard of written communication being sent out or in a considerable financial investment being made in grammar and punctuation training programmes to ensure that new employees convey a professional image of themselves and their organisation. The current proposal from the Department for Education appears to be in stalemate but the discussion needs to continue to ensure that solutions are put in place to ensure higher standards of writing among young British adults – if they don’t have a mastery of these basic communication skills they risk being disadvantaged in the job market.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2012

Share|

Jan 19

Email Etiquette 5| How to Address your Reader

Business Writing Skills, Email Writing Skills, Writing Skills No Comments »

Even the presenters of Radio 4’s Today Programme are now discussing email etiquette, specifically how we should best address our reader. During a discussion on a recent Today Programme, the conclusion seemed to be that the choice of salutation is really a question of taste, intention and context although horror was expressed at the use of openings such as ‘hey’ or even ‘ho’ or closings like ‘bestest’ or BW (Best wishes).

Email Etiquette 5 – How to Address your Reader, effective email writing, professionzl email writing, business writing

While the presenters are right that context matters and that it is important to reflect the style and expectations of your reader, there are also some basic ground rules we should all follow when opening our emails which will help ensure that our emails are well received.

Never miss out the salutation unless it is someone you know very well or you are exchanging quick fire emails with your reader

If you don’t know your reader or don’t know them well it is better to play safe and use ‘Dear’

Avoid using the reader’s name without a salutation as it can sound abrupt or directive

As the relationship develops take your lead from your reader and mirror their use of salutations; if you find your reader says ‘hi’ to you it is ok for you to use ‘hi’ or ‘hello’ in your emails to them

Good Morning or Good Evening can be deceptive if you are communicating across time zones. It also assumes that your recipient will be reading your message fairly soon after you have sent it

It can be difficult to find the right salutation for group emails; Dear All is generally better than Dear Customer or Dear Colleague. Better again, to use a proper mail merge, certainly when emailing externally, so that each recipient receives a personalised salutation

Finally, be very careful when emailing your international colleagues or customers. Your lack of formality or failure to address them properly will be picked up on immediately and could impact your future working relationship. Cross cultural communication adds yet another dimension to email etiquette.

You may think that a simple email salutation is only a couple of words and not worth debating, or even not worth using, but how you start your email sets the tone for the rest of your message and can show your reader that you are actually talking to them. Taking time to consider your use of email etiquette or attending a professional email writing course will improve they way you are perceived by your reader and how you develop your working relationships.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

Share|

Tagged with: business writing • communicating with impact • Effective business writing • effective email writing • email writing skills • interpersonal effectiveness • professional email writing

Jan 15

Email Etiquette 4|Did you Get My Email?

Business Writing Skills, Communication Skills, Email Writing Skills No Comments »

One of the downsides of email as a form of business communication is that we hit the send button and then are never quite sure what happens next. Has the message gone through? Has it been read? What does your reader think? Are they going to get back to you? And the all important – when?

Email Etiquette 4 – Did you Get My Email? business writing, professional email writing, email writing skills

As the use of email has developed rapidly and is now used by practically everyone, users, both for business and personal reasons, do not always know how to behave as senders and readers. Common courtesy would suggest we should respond to emails in a reasonable timeframe. A general rule of thumb is that if you are unable to respond within 24 hours, you probably need to send a holding email to let the sender know when you will be able to provide a full answer. Obviously if it is an email from a customer it is in your interest to impress them with your rapid response times and demonstrate your competitive edge.

What is acceptable etiquette for follow up or chase times when communicating by email? We have all been frustrated by those ‘Did you get my email?’ telephone callers or colleagues in the office that break your train of thought, usually as we have just started reading the same email or are trying to finish off something we consider to be more important.

When sending an email we need to remember that our priorities are not always the same as our readers’ and we need to be sensitive to their schedules and workloads. Of course, there may be times when you just need a quick yes or no response but in this case why not just call or speak to the other person in the first place?

If you really need an urgent response an apologetic ‘I know you’re really busy but…’ will help but you should generally give your reader at least a couple of hours if not the whole 24 hours to respond to your email. At that point, it is always worth following up; apart from anything else, emails do occasionally get lost in the ether or stuck in spam filters. Your recipient may not have been at their desk and might need to ask another team member to respond to you or may not have realised the urgency of your request. But, perhaps before you chase, consider how urgent your email really was, you may want to tick the task off your list and move on but if you don’t need the information urgently then allow your reader more time to respond.

Here are some quick email writing rules that should help you navigate the minefield of the now ubiquitous email:

1. Be Clear and Concise
Before you start, decide what you want to say and be very clear and unambiguous.

2. Be Polite
Just because you need to be clear and unambiguous does not mean you should forget your manners. A polite “Hi” and “Best wishes/All the best”, etc. at the beginning and end of the email can make a world of difference to how your email is received and how you are perceived.

3. Pick up the phone!
It’s far easier, gets you the answer you need more quickly and helps enormously to build goodwill and rapport with the person on the other end. Try it – it works!

4. Read up on the subject or get some training
There are lots of useful websites that go into more detail on the subject of email etiquette and how to get your message across. Professional Email Writing training courses are also another avenue organisations use to develop the interpersonal skills of their employees.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

Share|

Tagged with: business writing • communication skills • effective email writing • how to write an email • professional email writing • writing skills for professionals

Dec 21

Information Overload: a Hindrance to Effective Communication

Business Writing Skills, Communication Skills, Email Writing Skills, Writing Skills No Comments »

How many times do you check your inbox each hour? Once, twice, half or a dozen? Or are you more like the typical British office worker recently revealed to check their emails at least 30 times an hour. A recent article in the Daily Telegraph has suggested that we have become addicted to technology and are so hungry for new information that we constantly check for new messages or snippets of information in the hope that we have received something meaningful, enlightening or we are actually needed by someone.

Information Overload: a Hindrance to Effective Communication, business writing, email writing skills

New technology such as smart phones should be a great asset and a powerful aid to helping us work more efficiently. We can respond to urgent emails on the go, refer to useful websites and look up quick facts.

However, these gadgets, as well helping us, can also prove to be a hindrance providing information overload and constant interruptions. We receive so many emails and are exposed to so much information that it can be hard to distil what is actually important and what isn’t. We fill our brains with clutter and lose the ability to focus on our priorities and spend our time responding to trivial emails. We think we are multi-tasking but actually we are becoming less productive.

We read each email but don’t always process the information we need. As a result, we risk irritating the sender by asking them to remind us what they said or to send the email again. More worryingly, we allow ourselves to be distracted from more important tasks by the seeming urgency of each email that comes in.

This information overload doesn’t only impact the way we process information ourselves but can also have a negative impact on the way others perceive us. It is all too easy to give the impression that you are not listening to the other person. It can be quite obvious even on the telephone that you are distracted by your inbox rather than giving the speaker your full attention. In a face-to-face meeting, of course, it is only too apparent when the person you are talking to is distracted by their smart phone rather than focusing on the content of the meeting.

When you are tempted to check your emails mid conversation, consider how you feel when on the receiving end of this type of behaviour and think about your relationship with the person you are talking with. Do you want them to think that you are focused on what they are saying, that you respect and value their input or would you prefer to give them the impression that you are not terribly interested in them or their message?

Many companies have now acknowledged the productivity issues associated with this information overload and are responding by offering coaching and professional email writing courses to help their employees cope.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Share|

Tagged with: business writing • communication skills • Effective business writing • professional email writing • writing skills for professional

Nov 25

Do you Speak ‘Business Speak’?

Business Writing Skills, Writing Skills No Comments »

We have all received business emails asking us to ‘touch base’, suggest a ‘ball park figure’ or to do some ‘blue sky thinking’ or been at meetings where we have been told to discuss ‘offline’ or ‘free up some bandwidth’ for a new project and many of us will cringe at the use of these corporate buzzwords.

Do you Speak ‘Business Speak’?, professional business writing, business writing skills

‘Business speak’ has been around for a long time now and The Evening Standard recently drew our attention to its increase commenting that most of us prefer to be given our messages straight in plain and simple language.

User beware, these expressions are more often seen as clichéd and trite and an indicator of a lack of real substance. So, rather than presenting as someone who really knows about business and all its machinations, the use, or certainly the overuse, of these expressions is more likely to present you as a figure of ridicule.

Acronyms can be just as bad. They may serve a purpose as quick abbreviations but be careful when communicating with contacts from outside your organisation and sector, and be particularly cautious if your contacts are not native speakers of English. COB, AOB and POC are great for those of us that know but completely confusing for anyone unfamiliar with these acronyms and nobody likes to admit that they haven’t understood what has just been communicated.

Effective business writing and communication skills are about speaking your reader or listener’s language so try to tune into your contacts’ style. You may have colleagues who are overly fond of using these corporate clichés and while you wouldn’t want to mirror their usage in terms of volume, the use of an appropriate buzz word from time to time can act as a valuable form of shorthand between you and can demonstrate that you are ‘on the same page’ or even ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’! However, be aware that many of us prefer a ‘plain English’ approach to business communication and using these expressions can risk alienating or disengaging your fellow workers.

The best advice is to think about the language you use and its impact on your audience. This will enable you to adapt your communication style for each context ensuring that your messages are clear and easily understood by your reader.

Share|

Tagged with: business writing • business writing skills • communication skills • Effective business writing • professional business writing • writing with impact

Nov 17

Business Email Etiquette 1|Be Concise

Email Writing Skills, Writing Skills 1 Comment »

A crucial element of professional email etiquette and an essential means of showing courtesy to your reader is keeping your messages concise and to the point. We all receive emails that ramble on, giving us more information than we need but often leaving us unsure of the actual message we need to digest and what the sender wants us to do. Writing concisely will not only save your reader time but will also save you time as you will be less likely to need to chase, clarify or follow up on your original email. Concise emails are read more quickly, actioned appropriately and appreciated by the recipient. Be warned – you risk irritating your reader by sending unnecessarily long and complicated emails.

Business Email Etiquette 1 – Be Concise, Email writing, business writing, how to write an email

Below are some simple tips to help you to keep your emails short and to the point.

Do…

Use the active rather than passive voice. The CEO will attend the presentation is better than The meeting will be attended by the CEO.
Remember that imperatives are ok. Please return this form by Friday close of business is better than I would appreciate if you could return this form to me by….
Use concrete examples rather than complicated explanations
Use shorter words where possible, e.g. use rather than utilisation, me rather than myself
Use one word rather than groups of words, now instead of at this point in time, quickly instead of with the minimum of delay, daily not on a daily basis and so on

Don’t….

Use too many long sentences – if you run out of breath when reading a sentence out loud it is probably too long!
Repeat your ideas
Give unnecessary back story – keep to the point
Use redundant words, e.g. advance warning, large in size

Being aware of the need for concise writing and editing your emails to remove redundancy are important steps towards more professional email writing. Many organisations run business writing skills courses to enable employees to improve their business email etiquette, saving time for the organisation and individual employees alike through more effective and efficient email communication.

Share|

Tagged with: business writing • effective email writing • email etiquette • how to write an email • Writing an email • writing skills for professionals

A New Punctuation and Spelling Test for British Primary Children?

Email Etiquette 5| How to Address your Reader

Email Etiquette 4|Did you Get My Email?

Information Overload: a Hindrance to Effective Communication

Do you Speak ‘Business Speak’?

Business Email Etiquette 1|Be Concise

Communication Skills Training RSS

Pages

Categories

Archives

A New Punctuation and Spelling Test for British Primary Children?

Email Etiquette 5| How to Address your Reader

Email Etiquette 4|Did you Get My Email?

Information Overload: a Hindrance to Effective Communication

Do you Speak ‘Business Speak’?

Business Email Etiquette 1|Be Concise

Communication Skills Training RSS

Pages

Categories

Archives

Tags