The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing

223 Pages·2009·0.876 MB·English

by  Natalie Canavor

Praise for The Truth About the New
Rules of Business Writing
“The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing is fi lled with insights into
improving all your written business communications. From everyday letters,
e-mails, and reports to Web site content, proposals, and new media, you’ll
discover what it takes to make every written word count. A valuable resource,
written in a concise and easy-to-read format, that you’ll turn to again and
again.”
—Jerry Allocca, President, CORE Interactive
“An Elements of Style for our time…accessible, step-wise advice for
communicating ideas to modern readers, whether of e-mails, promotional
materials, or the printed page.”
—Susan Gilbert, President, Interactive Elements Inc.
“The essential skill of today’s businessperson is the ability to communicate
clearly and persuasively. We are now often judged solely on the basis of our
written communications. The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing
will make you a much better communicator. It’s packed with examples,
checklists, and easy-to-follow guides. This book has plenty of smart ideas you’ll
immediately apply to e-mails, letters, reports, Web, and social media. If you
want to instantly improve the quality of your writing, this is the book to read.”
—Victor Urbach, President, The Optran Group; Publisher, The Urbach Letter
“Times have changed. Business has changed. The Truth About the New Rules of
Business Writing really does speak the truth for today’s marketplace. It covers all
the ground, including things like e-mail and social media. It should be required
reading for people starting careers, looking to move up the ladder, or even
when they start a business. It will be required reading for my sales team!”
—Jim Josephson, Vice President, U.S. Sales, Energy Advantage Inc.
“Filled with clear, practical principles and examples, The Truth About the New
Rules of Business Writing is an essential guidebook for businesspeople who
want their writing to get results. This useful reference book takes the fear out of
putting fi ngers to the keyboard. Keep it on your desk because you’ll refer to it
often.”
—Julie Freeman, ABC, President, International Association
of Business Communicators
“All my clients are getting a copy of The Truth About the New Rules of Business
Writing. It’s packed with practical tips that even the most experienced writer
can use. It’s an easy read, but don’t let that fool you. My new mantra is, ‘Is it
say-able?’”
—Karen Susman, The Networking Toolbox™, Speaker, Trainer, and Author
“Business is about communication, and Natalie and Claire have given us
a crucial and invaluable tool. Whether you’re writing a simple e-mail or a
multimillion dollar proposal, The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing
is a must read!”
—Jeff Goldberg, Professional Speaker, Trainer, Coach, and Author
“The authors of The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing understand
that your true business abilities are transmitted to your colleagues and clients
through your e-mails, memos, documents, and reports. If your writing is
drab and old-fashioned, confusing or confl icted, you’re in need of a writing
makeover. This sharp, concise, and useful book gives you a step-by-step guide
to making your writing shine with the clarity and impact that’s demanded in
today’s competitive business environment.”
—Deborah K. Herman, Founder and Publisher, Building Long Island
“Good writing starts with good thinking. This book shows you how to do both—
and in a way that’s effective for our electronic present.”
—Peter Krass, President, Petros Consulting LLC
“The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing is a masterfully crafted
guide of best practices for effective and practical business writing in the 21st
century. A dynamic writing duo, Canavor and Meirowitz provide an eloquent
communication tool for print and digital media in today’s evolving, fast-paced
global society.”
—Jessica McAleer Decatur, Director of Public Relations,
St. Joseph’s College, Long Island Campus
THE TRUTH
ABOUT
THE NEW
RULES OF
BUSINESS
WRITING
Natalie Canavor and
Claire Meirowitz
© 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Publishing as FT Press Vice President, Publisher
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Tim Moore
Associate Publisher and
FT Press offers excellent discounts on this Director of Marketing
book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases Amy Neidlinger
or special sales. For more information, please Acquisitions Editor
contact U.S. Corporate and Government Sales, Jennifer Simon
1-800-382-3419, [email protected]. Editorial Assistant
For sales outside the U.S., please contact Pamela Boland
International Sales at [email protected]. Operations Manager
Gina Kanouse
Company and product names mentioned herein are Senior Marketing
the trademarks or registered trademarks of their Manager
respective owners. Julie Phifer
Publicity Manager
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be Laura Czaja
reproduced, in any form or by any means, without AssistantMarketing
permission in writing from the publisher. Manager
Megan Colvin
Printed in the United States of America
Cover Designer
Sandra Schroeder
First Printing December 2009
Managing Editor
ISBN-10 0-13-715315-5 Kristy Hart
ISBN-13 978-0-13-715315-2 Project Editor
Betsy Harris
Pearson Education LTD.
Copy Editor
Pearson Education Australia PTY, Limited. Keith Cline
Pearson Education Singapore, Pte. Ltd. Proofreader
Pearson Education North Asia, Ltd. Water Crest Publishing
Pearson Education Canada, Ltd. Senior Compositor
Pearson Educación de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. Gloria Schurick
Pearson Education—Japan Manufacturing Buyer
Pearson Education Malaysia, Pte. Ltd. Dan Uhrig
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Canavor, Natalie
The truth about the new rules of business writing / Natalie Canavor, Claire Meirowitz.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-13-715315-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Business writing. 2. Business
communication. I. Meirowitz, Claire. II. Title.
HF5718.3.C366 2009
651.7’4--dc22
2009007022
Natalie Canavor
To my always supportive husband, Greg,
and to my daughter Victoria, always an inspiration.
Claire Meirowitz
Dedicated to my loving husband, Joe, and my wonderful
daughters, Diane, Laura, and Linda.
This page intentionally left blank
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Part I The truth about what makes writing work
TRUTH 1 Most people aim for the wrong target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
C
TRUTH 2 If you can say it, you can write it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 O
N
TRUTH 3 Forget yesterday—write for today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 T
E
TRUTH 4 Planning is the magic ingredient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 N
T
TRUTH 5 To achieve your goal, look below its surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 S
TRUTH 6 Cut to the chase: Put the bottom line on top . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
TRUTH 7 “Me”-focused messages fail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
TRUTH 8 People are not the same: Write for differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
TRUTH 9 Tone makes—or breaks—your message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
TRUTH 10 Knowing your inside story is the key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
TRUTH 11 Forget outlines—organize your thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
TRUTH 12 How to organize is a personal choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
TRUTH 13 Every message you sendhas a psychological impact . . . . . . . 49
TRUTH 14 Effective messages lead with strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
TRUTH 15 To succeed, cover your ground and remember “the ask” . . . . 57
TRUTH 16 Your goal and audience determine the best way
to communicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Part II The truth about self-editing
TRUTH 17 The best writers don’t write; they rewrite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
TRUTH 18 Rhythm and transitions make writing move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
TRUTH 19 Less can be a whole lot more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
TRUTH 20 Passive thinking and jargon undermine clarity . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
TRUTH 21 You don’t need grammar drills to spot your
writing problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Part III The truth about successful e-mail
TRUTH 22 Use e-mail to communicate in the fast lane—powerfully . . . . . 85
TRUTH 23 Good subject lines say, “Open sesame”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
TRUTH 24 Know your e-mail do’s and don’ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
TRUTH 25 Writing good progress reports is worth your time . . . . . . . . . . 97
Part IV The truth about letters
TRUTH 26 Letters: They live! And you need them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
TRUTH 27 Letters build relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
TRUTH 28 Cover letters matter, big time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Part V The truth about reports and proposals
TRUTH 29 Good reports generate action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
TRUTH 30 Organizing complex projects isn’t that hard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
TRUTH 31 Well-crafted proposals win . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
vii
TRUTH 32 The letter format lets you shortcut proposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
TRUTH 33 Root grant applications in “mission”—yours and
the funder’s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Part VI The truth about Web sites
TRUTH 34 Writing is the missing factor in your competitors’
Web sites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
TRUTH 35 Web sites built on keywords and content build traffi c . . . . . . 137
TRUTH 36 A home page must crystallize who you are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Part VII The truth about new media
TRUTH 37 Blogging and social media are powerful business tools . . . . 145
TRUTH 38 To blog for yourself, be yourself, but carefully . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
TRUTH 39 Good business blogging is edgy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
TRUTH 40 Tweeting and texting: the ultimate self-edit challenge . . . . . 157
TRUTH 41 E-letters focus marketing and reinforce branding . . . . . . . . . 161
TRUTH 42 Good PowerPoint is more than pretty faces: It starts
with writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Part VIII The truth about writing to self-market
TRUTH 43 Strong résumés focus on accomplishments,
not responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
TRUTH 44 Fliers are easy all-purpose promotional tools . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
TRUTH 45 It pays to think PR and send news releases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
TRUTH 46 Writing articles boosts your career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
TRUTH 47 The virtual world offers self-publishing power . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Part IX The truth about tricks of the trade
TRUTH 48 Good headlines help your writing work—a lot . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
TRUTH 49 Skillful interviewing is a major (but unrecognized)
business asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
TRUTH 50 Readers are global: Try not to confuse them . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
TRUTH 51 Clarity is next to godliness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
TRUTH 52 You can fi x your own grammar goofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Online-only content
References
Creating a style sheet
Resources
Note about the online-only content
You can access more materials—including “References,”
“Creating a style sheet,” and “Resources”—by registering your book at
www.ftpress.com/title/9780137153152.
viii
Foreword: A new way to think about writing
Do you wonder why your messages don’t work the way you want,
and whether there’s a better way to write them? There is. And
F
O
we’re going to show you exactly how to do it.
R
E
This book’s goal is to make you a good business writer. W
O
What do we mean by business writer? Not someone who earns a R
D
living as a writer, but anyone who writes for business purposes. You
might turn out e-mails, letters, and reports as part of your everyday
work in the corporate, nonprofi t, or government worlds. You might
be an entrepreneur or a professional—perhaps a lawyer, accountant,
educator, scientist, artist—who writes proposals or articles as well as
e-mails and marketing materials and blogs.
Whoever you are, writing can give you a powerful competitive
edge. It can help you achieve your goals, work more effi ciently, and
persuade other people to your viewpoint. Even more: Good writing
will help you be a better leader.
The strategies that The Truth About the New Rules of Business
Writing demonstrates are based on the best ideas about practical
writing, recast to work in today’s fast-paced digitized world. Learn
these ideas, and you’re ready to write successfully not only for today’s
print and electronic media, but for whatever new communication
vehicles emerge in our evolving business world.
On the Web
Visit this book’s Web site at www.ftpress.com/title/9780137153152
to register this book and access bonus material, including reference
sections on formatting, style sheets, and resources.
ix