Business Writing For Dummies
3. Edition April 2021
432 Pages, Softcover
General Reading
ISBN:
978-1-119-69669-8
John Wiley & Sons
Further versions
Learn how to write for the results you want every time, in every medium!
Do you wish you could write better? In today's business world, good writing is key to success in just about every endeavor. Writing is how you connect with colleagues, supervisors, clients, partners, employees, and people you've never met. No wonder strong writers win the jobs, promotions and contracts. Business Writing For Dummies shows you, from the ground up, how to create persuasive messages with the right content and language every time--messages your readers will understand and act on.
This friendly guide equips you with a step-by-step method for planning what to say and how to say it in writing. This sytem empowers you to handle every writing challenge with confidence, from emails to proposals, reports to resumes, presentations to video scripts, blogs to social posts, websites to books. Discover down-to-earth techniques for sharpening your language and correcting your own writing problems. Learn how to adapt content, tone and style for each medium and audience. And learn to use every message you write to build better relationships and solve problems, while getting to the "yes" you want.
Whether you're aiming to land your first job or are an experienced specialist in your field, Business Writing For Dummies helps you build your communication confidence and stand out.
* Present yourself with authority and credibility
* Understand and use the tools of persuasion
* Communicate as a remote worker, freelancer, consultant or entrepreneur
* Strategize your online presence to support your goals
* Bring out the best in people and foster team spirit as a leader
* Prepare to ace interviews, pitches and confrontations
Good communication skills, particularly writing, are in high demand across all industries. Use this book to gain the edge you need to promote your own success, now and down the line as your career goals evolve.
Introduction 1
About This Book 3
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 4
Beyond the Book 5
Where to Go from Here 5
Part 1: Winning with Writing 7
Chapter 1: Making Writing Your Weapon for Success 9
Putting Strategic Writing to Work for You 10
Planning and Structuring Every Message 13
Applying the Goal-Plus-Audience Strategy to More Media 18
Succeeding with email, letters and business documents 18
Writing to present yourself powerfully 19
Writing online: From websites to blogs to tweets 19
Leveraging your writing skills 20
Remembering to think globally 20
Chapter 2: Planning Your Message Every Time 23
Adopting the Plan-Draft-Edit Principle 24
Fine-Tuning Your Plan: Your Goals and Audience 25
Defining your goal 25
Defining your audience 27
Brainstorming the best content for your purpose 33
Writing to groups and strangers 36
Imagining your readers 36
Making People Care 38
Connecting instantly with your reader 38
Focusing on what's-in-it-for-me 39
Persuading with benefits, not features 40
Finding the concrete, limiting the abstract 41
Choosing Your Written Voice: Tone 43
Sound positive, never negative 44
Align tone with the occasion, relationship and culture 45
Writing as your authentic self 46
Using Relationship-Building Techniques 48
Showing active caring and respect 48
Personalizing what you write 49
Framing messages with "you" not "I" 50
Chapter 3: Making Your Writing Work: The Basics 53
Stepping into Twenty-First-Century Writing Style 54
Writing to be understood 54
Applying readability guidelines 55
Finding the right rhythm 59
Achieving a conversational tone 61
Energizing Your Language 63
Relying on everyday wording 63
Choosing reader-friendly words 65
Focusing on the real and concrete 66
Finding action verbs 67
Crafting comparisons to help readers 68
Employing Reader-Friendly Graphic Techniques 70
Building in white space 71
Choosing a typeface 71
Keeping colors simple 73
Adding effective graphics 73
Breaking space up with sidebars, boxes and lists 74
Chapter 4: Self-Editing: Professional Ways to Improve Your Work 77
Changing Hats: From Writer to Editor 78
Choosing a way to edit 78
Distancing yourself from what you write 80
Reviewing the Big and Small Pictures 82
Assessing content success 82
Assessing your language 83
Avoiding telltale up-down-up inflection 85
Looking for repeat word endings 86
Pruning prepositions 89
Cutting all non-contributor words 91
Moving from Passive to Active 94
Thinking "action" 94
Trimming "there is" and "there are" 95
Cutting the haves and have nots 96
Using the passive deliberately 96
Sidestepping Jargon, Clichés and Extra Modifiers 97
Reining in jargon 97
Cooling the clichés 99
Minimizing modifiers 100
Energizing What You Write 101
Chapter 5: Fixing Common Writing Problems 103
Organizing Your Document 104
Paragraphing for logic 104
Building with subheads 106
Working with transitions 107
Working in lists: Numbers and bulleting 109
Catching Common Mistakes 113
Fine-tuning punctuation 114
Using comma sense 114
More punctuation tools 116
Using "however" correctly 118
Weighing "which" versus "that" 119
Considering "who" versus "that" 120
Choosing "who" versus "whom" 120
Beginning with "and" or "but" 120
Using sentence fragments 121
Ending with prepositions 121
Fielding Pronoun Challenges 122
Match nouns and pronouns 122
Be mindful of personal pronouns 124
Spot common pronoun errors 126
Fixing Common Word Confusions 127
It's or its 127
Their, there and they're 127
Your, yours and you're 128
Affect versus effect 129
Reviewing and Proofreading: The Final Check 129
Checking the big picture 129
Proofreading your work 131
Cutting to fit 131
Creating your personal writing improvement guide 133
What about my personal style? 134
Part 2: Applying Your Skills to Business Messages and Documents 135
Chapter 6: Writing Email and Letters That Get Results 137
Fast-Forwarding Your Agenda with Email 138
Starting Strong 140
Writing subject lines that pull people in 140
Using appropriate salutations 143
Drafting a strong email lead 143
Building Content That Achieves Your Goals 145
Clarifying what you want 145
Assessing what matters to your audience 146
Determining the best substance 149
Structuring Your Middle Ground 150
Closing Strong 152
Polishing Your Email 153
Monitoring length and breadth 153
Simplifying style 154
Going short: Words, sentences, paragraphs 154
Using graphic techniques to promote clarity 155
Using the signature block 157
Using Email for Marketing 158
Composing Effective Letters 161
Chapter 7: Creating High-Impact Business Materials 169
Creating Valued Reports 169
Writing activity reports 170
Reporting project results 175
Fast-Tracking Your Proposals 176
Writing formal proposals 177
Writing informal proposals 179
Writing a business plan 182
Applying for grants 183
Writing an Executive Summary 185
Giving perspective to complex material 186
Determining what matters 187
Putting headlines to work 189
Writing Tips for All Business Documents 190
Part 3: Writing to Present Yourself Effectively 193
Chapter 8: Building Persuasion into Your Writing 195
Connecting with Your Readers 195
Drawing from psychology 196
Communicating with conviction 197
Strategizing in Many Dimensions 198
Centering on benefits 198
Creating a friendly and reasonable tone 199
Giving people time 200
Planning Your Persuasive Message 201
Step 1: Clarify your goal to yourself 201
Step 2: Characterize your audience 201
Step 3: Determine the best content 202
Step 4: Create action headlines that relate to your audience 203
Step 5: Develop a compelling lead that connects
content and reader 203
Step 6: Draft the rest of the message 203
Using Persuasive Language 204
Choosing words that persuade 204
Structuring material to support persuasion 206
Knowing what language to choose and what to avoid 208
Finding Your Core Business Message 209
Searching for true value 211
Making your case in business terms 214
Finding, Shaping and Using Stories 215
Finding your business story 217
Building your story 218
Story-writing tips 220
Translating Words into Visuals 221
Chapter 9: Speaking Well for Yourself 225
Building Your Elevator Speech 226
Defining your goal 227
Defining your audience 228
Strategizing your content 228
Using your mini-speech 231
Representing your organization and yourself 232
Preparing and Giving Presentations 233
Planning what to say 234
Crafting your presentations with writing 238
Integrating visuals 240
Standing and delivering 241
Composing Talking Points for Live Interaction 242
Chapter 10: Writing for the Job Hunt 245
Knowing and Expressing Your Value 246
Pinpointing your personal strengths 247
Pulling your ideas together 249
Assessing All Your Skills 250
Writing Résumés That Win the Race 253
Choosing a format 254
Sidestepping presentation problems 256
Styling Language for Résumés 257
Using keywords: An essential 258
Writing the summary statement 259
Building your work history section 261
Showing off strengths 262
Succeeding with Cover Letters 265
Planning a cover letter 265
Opening with pizzazz 266
Networking with Messages 268
Requesting informational interviews 268
Saying thank you 270
Part 4: Writing For Online Media 273
Chapter 11: Writing for the Digital World 275
Positioning Yourself Online 276
Understanding Visual Platforms 277
Choosing Your Platforms 277
Breaking down your goals 280
Finding your audiences 281
Writing for Digital Media 284
Loosening up 285
Keeping language simple and clear 286
Communicating credibility 287
Cutting hype, maxing evidence 288
Devising nonlinear strategies 289
Incorporating interactive strategies 290
Using Social Media Platforms 292
Engaging with social media 292
Exploring content ideas 294
Networking with Twitter 295
Planning your Twitter program 296
Guidelines for tweeting 297
Working with LinkedIn 298
Chapter 12: Creating Content for Your Online Life 303
Creating a Website from the Ground Up 303
Shaping your site to goals and audience 305
Planning a basic website 307
Creating the site structure 309
Assembling and writing a home page 310
Writing the About Us page 312
Writing the inside pages 313
Content tips for websites 315
Writing tips for websites 315
Graphic tips for websites 315
Creating a Blog 317
Choosing your best subject 319
Developing tone and style 321
Drawing from the journalist's toolkit 321
Creating magnetic headlines 324
Organizing with progressive subheads 325
Considering articles for publication 325
Telling Your Story with Video 326
Using video to accomplish goals 327
Scripting your video 328
Producing video step-by-step 329
Sharing expertise with video 333
Introducing yourself with video 334
Part 5: Leveraging Your Writing Skills 337
Chapter 13: Writing for the Workplace: Managing Up, Down and Sideways 339
Communicating as a Manager 340
Relating to your team members 342
Writing to inspire and motivate 343
Delivering bad news 344
Writing good news messages 350
Criticizing with kindness 352
Writing requests and giving orders 353
Writing to Manage Up 354
Guarding your tone 357
Avoiding the blame game 359
Making it easy to respond 360
Writing to Colleagues, Collaborators and Teammates 361
Using Backup Memos 362
Language for Communicating Sideways 363
Using Turnaround Techniques 364
Communicating with a Team of Equals 366
Chapter 14: Writing for Entrepreneurs and Virtual Workers 369
Communicating as a Virtual Worker 370
Teaming Techniques and Practices 371
Using Everyday Communication Tools: Email and Group Chat 374
Making email more personal 374
Using team chat to your advantage 375
Using teleconferencing effectively 376
Writing as an Entrepreneur 379
Charting your communication plan 379
Pitching the media for free publicity 382
Writing Challenges for the Entrepreneur 386
Introducing yourself in writing 386
Writing to pitch your services 390
Creating letters that get you in 392
Part 6: The Part of Tens 401
Chapter 15: Ten (or So) Ways to Grow Your Personal Power with Writing 403
Use Writing to Problem-Solve 403
Write a "Pro" and "Con" List 404
Handwrite to Spark Creativity 404
Write to Take Charge of Your Emotions 405
Take Notes about Your Work 405
Take the Meeting Notes 406
Take Notes of Your Anytime Ideas 406
Prepare for Confrontation 406
Write a Long-Range Career Plan 407
Create Profiles of Your VIPs 407
Write Gratefully 408
Chapter 16: Ten Steps to Writing Your Own Book 409
Envision Your Finished Book 410
Create an Elevator Speech for Your Book 411
Think about Marketing -- Early 411
Break the Writing into Pieces 412
Create a Folder System 413
Assess the Practicalities 413
Write a Proposal 414
Draft the Copy 415
Liven Up Your Content 416
Check Out Self-Publishing Options 417
Index 418
About This Book 3
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 4
Beyond the Book 5
Where to Go from Here 5
Part 1: Winning with Writing 7
Chapter 1: Making Writing Your Weapon for Success 9
Putting Strategic Writing to Work for You 10
Planning and Structuring Every Message 13
Applying the Goal-Plus-Audience Strategy to More Media 18
Succeeding with email, letters and business documents 18
Writing to present yourself powerfully 19
Writing online: From websites to blogs to tweets 19
Leveraging your writing skills 20
Remembering to think globally 20
Chapter 2: Planning Your Message Every Time 23
Adopting the Plan-Draft-Edit Principle 24
Fine-Tuning Your Plan: Your Goals and Audience 25
Defining your goal 25
Defining your audience 27
Brainstorming the best content for your purpose 33
Writing to groups and strangers 36
Imagining your readers 36
Making People Care 38
Connecting instantly with your reader 38
Focusing on what's-in-it-for-me 39
Persuading with benefits, not features 40
Finding the concrete, limiting the abstract 41
Choosing Your Written Voice: Tone 43
Sound positive, never negative 44
Align tone with the occasion, relationship and culture 45
Writing as your authentic self 46
Using Relationship-Building Techniques 48
Showing active caring and respect 48
Personalizing what you write 49
Framing messages with "you" not "I" 50
Chapter 3: Making Your Writing Work: The Basics 53
Stepping into Twenty-First-Century Writing Style 54
Writing to be understood 54
Applying readability guidelines 55
Finding the right rhythm 59
Achieving a conversational tone 61
Energizing Your Language 63
Relying on everyday wording 63
Choosing reader-friendly words 65
Focusing on the real and concrete 66
Finding action verbs 67
Crafting comparisons to help readers 68
Employing Reader-Friendly Graphic Techniques 70
Building in white space 71
Choosing a typeface 71
Keeping colors simple 73
Adding effective graphics 73
Breaking space up with sidebars, boxes and lists 74
Chapter 4: Self-Editing: Professional Ways to Improve Your Work 77
Changing Hats: From Writer to Editor 78
Choosing a way to edit 78
Distancing yourself from what you write 80
Reviewing the Big and Small Pictures 82
Assessing content success 82
Assessing your language 83
Avoiding telltale up-down-up inflection 85
Looking for repeat word endings 86
Pruning prepositions 89
Cutting all non-contributor words 91
Moving from Passive to Active 94
Thinking "action" 94
Trimming "there is" and "there are" 95
Cutting the haves and have nots 96
Using the passive deliberately 96
Sidestepping Jargon, Clichés and Extra Modifiers 97
Reining in jargon 97
Cooling the clichés 99
Minimizing modifiers 100
Energizing What You Write 101
Chapter 5: Fixing Common Writing Problems 103
Organizing Your Document 104
Paragraphing for logic 104
Building with subheads 106
Working with transitions 107
Working in lists: Numbers and bulleting 109
Catching Common Mistakes 113
Fine-tuning punctuation 114
Using comma sense 114
More punctuation tools 116
Using "however" correctly 118
Weighing "which" versus "that" 119
Considering "who" versus "that" 120
Choosing "who" versus "whom" 120
Beginning with "and" or "but" 120
Using sentence fragments 121
Ending with prepositions 121
Fielding Pronoun Challenges 122
Match nouns and pronouns 122
Be mindful of personal pronouns 124
Spot common pronoun errors 126
Fixing Common Word Confusions 127
It's or its 127
Their, there and they're 127
Your, yours and you're 128
Affect versus effect 129
Reviewing and Proofreading: The Final Check 129
Checking the big picture 129
Proofreading your work 131
Cutting to fit 131
Creating your personal writing improvement guide 133
What about my personal style? 134
Part 2: Applying Your Skills to Business Messages and Documents 135
Chapter 6: Writing Email and Letters That Get Results 137
Fast-Forwarding Your Agenda with Email 138
Starting Strong 140
Writing subject lines that pull people in 140
Using appropriate salutations 143
Drafting a strong email lead 143
Building Content That Achieves Your Goals 145
Clarifying what you want 145
Assessing what matters to your audience 146
Determining the best substance 149
Structuring Your Middle Ground 150
Closing Strong 152
Polishing Your Email 153
Monitoring length and breadth 153
Simplifying style 154
Going short: Words, sentences, paragraphs 154
Using graphic techniques to promote clarity 155
Using the signature block 157
Using Email for Marketing 158
Composing Effective Letters 161
Chapter 7: Creating High-Impact Business Materials 169
Creating Valued Reports 169
Writing activity reports 170
Reporting project results 175
Fast-Tracking Your Proposals 176
Writing formal proposals 177
Writing informal proposals 179
Writing a business plan 182
Applying for grants 183
Writing an Executive Summary 185
Giving perspective to complex material 186
Determining what matters 187
Putting headlines to work 189
Writing Tips for All Business Documents 190
Part 3: Writing to Present Yourself Effectively 193
Chapter 8: Building Persuasion into Your Writing 195
Connecting with Your Readers 195
Drawing from psychology 196
Communicating with conviction 197
Strategizing in Many Dimensions 198
Centering on benefits 198
Creating a friendly and reasonable tone 199
Giving people time 200
Planning Your Persuasive Message 201
Step 1: Clarify your goal to yourself 201
Step 2: Characterize your audience 201
Step 3: Determine the best content 202
Step 4: Create action headlines that relate to your audience 203
Step 5: Develop a compelling lead that connects
content and reader 203
Step 6: Draft the rest of the message 203
Using Persuasive Language 204
Choosing words that persuade 204
Structuring material to support persuasion 206
Knowing what language to choose and what to avoid 208
Finding Your Core Business Message 209
Searching for true value 211
Making your case in business terms 214
Finding, Shaping and Using Stories 215
Finding your business story 217
Building your story 218
Story-writing tips 220
Translating Words into Visuals 221
Chapter 9: Speaking Well for Yourself 225
Building Your Elevator Speech 226
Defining your goal 227
Defining your audience 228
Strategizing your content 228
Using your mini-speech 231
Representing your organization and yourself 232
Preparing and Giving Presentations 233
Planning what to say 234
Crafting your presentations with writing 238
Integrating visuals 240
Standing and delivering 241
Composing Talking Points for Live Interaction 242
Chapter 10: Writing for the Job Hunt 245
Knowing and Expressing Your Value 246
Pinpointing your personal strengths 247
Pulling your ideas together 249
Assessing All Your Skills 250
Writing Résumés That Win the Race 253
Choosing a format 254
Sidestepping presentation problems 256
Styling Language for Résumés 257
Using keywords: An essential 258
Writing the summary statement 259
Building your work history section 261
Showing off strengths 262
Succeeding with Cover Letters 265
Planning a cover letter 265
Opening with pizzazz 266
Networking with Messages 268
Requesting informational interviews 268
Saying thank you 270
Part 4: Writing For Online Media 273
Chapter 11: Writing for the Digital World 275
Positioning Yourself Online 276
Understanding Visual Platforms 277
Choosing Your Platforms 277
Breaking down your goals 280
Finding your audiences 281
Writing for Digital Media 284
Loosening up 285
Keeping language simple and clear 286
Communicating credibility 287
Cutting hype, maxing evidence 288
Devising nonlinear strategies 289
Incorporating interactive strategies 290
Using Social Media Platforms 292
Engaging with social media 292
Exploring content ideas 294
Networking with Twitter 295
Planning your Twitter program 296
Guidelines for tweeting 297
Working with LinkedIn 298
Chapter 12: Creating Content for Your Online Life 303
Creating a Website from the Ground Up 303
Shaping your site to goals and audience 305
Planning a basic website 307
Creating the site structure 309
Assembling and writing a home page 310
Writing the About Us page 312
Writing the inside pages 313
Content tips for websites 315
Writing tips for websites 315
Graphic tips for websites 315
Creating a Blog 317
Choosing your best subject 319
Developing tone and style 321
Drawing from the journalist's toolkit 321
Creating magnetic headlines 324
Organizing with progressive subheads 325
Considering articles for publication 325
Telling Your Story with Video 326
Using video to accomplish goals 327
Scripting your video 328
Producing video step-by-step 329
Sharing expertise with video 333
Introducing yourself with video 334
Part 5: Leveraging Your Writing Skills 337
Chapter 13: Writing for the Workplace: Managing Up, Down and Sideways 339
Communicating as a Manager 340
Relating to your team members 342
Writing to inspire and motivate 343
Delivering bad news 344
Writing good news messages 350
Criticizing with kindness 352
Writing requests and giving orders 353
Writing to Manage Up 354
Guarding your tone 357
Avoiding the blame game 359
Making it easy to respond 360
Writing to Colleagues, Collaborators and Teammates 361
Using Backup Memos 362
Language for Communicating Sideways 363
Using Turnaround Techniques 364
Communicating with a Team of Equals 366
Chapter 14: Writing for Entrepreneurs and Virtual Workers 369
Communicating as a Virtual Worker 370
Teaming Techniques and Practices 371
Using Everyday Communication Tools: Email and Group Chat 374
Making email more personal 374
Using team chat to your advantage 375
Using teleconferencing effectively 376
Writing as an Entrepreneur 379
Charting your communication plan 379
Pitching the media for free publicity 382
Writing Challenges for the Entrepreneur 386
Introducing yourself in writing 386
Writing to pitch your services 390
Creating letters that get you in 392
Part 6: The Part of Tens 401
Chapter 15: Ten (or So) Ways to Grow Your Personal Power with Writing 403
Use Writing to Problem-Solve 403
Write a "Pro" and "Con" List 404
Handwrite to Spark Creativity 404
Write to Take Charge of Your Emotions 405
Take Notes about Your Work 405
Take the Meeting Notes 406
Take Notes of Your Anytime Ideas 406
Prepare for Confrontation 406
Write a Long-Range Career Plan 407
Create Profiles of Your VIPs 407
Write Gratefully 408
Chapter 16: Ten Steps to Writing Your Own Book 409
Envision Your Finished Book 410
Create an Elevator Speech for Your Book 411
Think about Marketing -- Early 411
Break the Writing into Pieces 412
Create a Folder System 413
Assess the Practicalities 413
Write a Proposal 414
Draft the Copy 415
Liven Up Your Content 416
Check Out Self-Publishing Options 417
Index 418
Natalie Canavor's career spans national magazine editing, journalism, corporate communications and public relations. Her writing for business media, professional audiences and The New York Times have won dozens of national and international awards. She has taught advanced writing seminars for NYU and conducts frequent workshops.
