Business writing made easier

“Not again,” you mutter to yourself after your boss asks you to put together a memo to the rest of the staff about a new product, an office policy or an upcoming meeting.

So you sip your latté. Check your Facebook account. You do anything to avoid the job duty you hate the most: writing.

But turning around an effective business memo -- or letter, email or anything your job demands -- isn’t as tough as you think. We have the following tips to help you get started.

1. Write in an active voice. Stay away from the “to be” form of verbs: is, am, are, was, were. Those words lead to uninteresting writing that the reader will need to read more than once to absorb. The passive voice also creates unnecessary wordiness.

• Example: “The staff meeting is scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m. in Mr. Johnson’s office. Mr. Johnson wants everyone to be prepared to talk about how we can expand our product line.”
• Try instead: “The staff will meet Monday at 3 p.m. in Mr. Johnson’s office. Be ready to discuss expanding the product line.”

     By eliminating the “to be” verbs, the number of words dropped by one-third. A reduction in words leads to an increase in comprehension.
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2. Along a similar line, avoid the use of prepositions. Prepositions show how a noun or a pronoun relates to another word or a sentence. Example: “I spent the money on a new bike.” In many sentences, prepositional phrases just contribute to the passive voice. In our example about the staff meeting, for instance, the phrases “in Mr. Johnson’s office” and “about how we can expand our product line” just add words. Remember one of the golden rules of writing: less is more. Keep the writing business-like. Use professional words, and stay away from exclamation points. Words you might say in casual office conversation don’t translate well to writing.

• Example: “Mr. Johnson thinks it would be awesome if you each could bring 10 product ideas to the staff meeting!”
• Try instead: “Mr. Johnson requests each staff member prepare 10 product ideas for the meeting.”

3. Stay away from jargon, which is words or expressions specific to an industry. Keep it out of memos  and leave it only in technical papers written for those in the industry. Readers will read right over those words and will miss your message.

​4. Use simple words rather than words that make you try to sound smarter than others.

• Example: “Attendees will find it advantageous to congregate at the gala well before opening to obtain parking.”
• Try instead: “Gala attendees should arrive early to guarantee parking.”