Business Writing

Do Customers Know Your Lingo?

Last week I presented at the fall conference of the Commercial Food Equipment Service Association (CFESA), which took place at a lovely resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I needed to wake up early to put finishing touches on my PowerPoint slides, so I called the hotel operator for a wake-up call at 5:30 a.m. When I requested the call, the operator's response was "Do you want a follow-up?"

I was not expecting that response, so I puzzled over whether she had said follow-up, fill-up, or something completely different. I said, "I'm sorry. I don't understand. Would you repeat that?" She repeated, "Do you want a follow-up?"

Although I stay in hotels fairly often, I had never before been asked about a follow-up. I explained that I wanted a wake-up call, not a follow-up.

Then it was the operator's turn to explain. She said, "Will one call be enough? Or do you need a follow-up call?"

Finally I understood. A "follow-up" was a second call for those who don't wake up easily. No, I did not need a follow-up.

When the operator phoned the next morning at 5:30, she asked, "Do you need a follow-up?" This time, I understood. I told her I was awake and did not need a follow-up.

A similar exchange might have taken place in email:

"May I have a wake-up call at 5:30?"

"Do you want a follow-up?"

"No, I want a wake-up call."

And so on.

Problems occur when we business communicators assume that the other person knows our language. This assumption often involves business representatives communicating with customers and clients, using terms that are second nature in the business. To the hotel operator, "a follow-up" was as familiar as sunshine in Scottsdale. But it puzzled me, the customer. 

What about the expressions you use with your customers in email and on the phone? Do your customers, clients, donors, and others know your lingo?

Please share your comments here.

Lynn
Syntax Training

How to Render Titles When Italics Aren't Possible

Liz wrote the other day with an interesting question:

"When writing a Facebook wall post, it isn't possible (as far as I know) to italicize or underline anything. So how does one properly punctuate titles of works of art/literature? Quotes can work fine for a single item, but the difficulty arises when citing major and minor works within the same sentence."

This example illustrates Liz's question:

He quoted from the chapter "Don't Keep Score" in Keith Ferrazzi's Never Eat Alone.

If Liz follows the style of putting large works in italics, with their smaller parts in quotation marks, how would she render the book title without the use of italics or underlining?

She would render it in full caps, like this:

He quoted from the chapter "Don't Keep Score" in Keith Ferrazzi's NEVER EAT ALONE.

The Gregg Reference Manual recommends this approach, and I like it.

Thanks for asking, Liz.

Lynn
Syntax Training

Quick Tip on Texting

Include your name at the end of your text messages. That way, people who don't have you in their address book--and don't have your number memorized--will know it's you.

Thanks to Melissa Thirloway for sharing this good tip.

Lynn
Syntax Training

Tips for Efficient Instant Messaging at Work

I was leading a business writing program yesterday, when someone asked me to cover instant messaging (IM). Of course, I said the principles we were discussing in class applied to all types of business writing.

Yet IM at work is a unique form of communication--instant and fleeting like nothing else. What makes it efficient?

As someone who rarely uses IM at work, I will offer a few common-sense ideas. But then it's your turn--please. If you use IM efficiently on the job, will you please add your wisdom? 

Here are my suggestions:

1. Greet the other person briefly at the start of the IM conversation. Don't do the equivalent of barging in with a business question without saying hello. Be courteous.
2. Wait for a response to each of your comments before adding more. Otherwise, you won't be sure which comment the other person is addressing.
3. Do your best to use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Mistakes will happen, of course, but don't make them knowingly. They get in the way of quick understanding.
4. Use the word "we" cautiously or avoid it. It may refer to you and your team, or you and the other person. Instead write "our team" or "you and I."
5. Avoid passive verbs such as "should be downloaded." Passives don't make it clear who should do the action. Instead use "Download," "I have downloaded," or "Your IT administrator will download."
6. In IM exchanges with customers, when you use boilerplate text (for example, to respond to common customer questions), edit the boilerplate so it suits the situation. For example, if you have just told the customer "I will be glad to help," cut the "I will be glad to help" statement from the next boilerplate response. Otherwise, it will be obvious that you are pasting in rote responses.
7. As with other business messages, avoid humor unless you are certain the other person will understand and enjoy it.
8. Avoid sarcasm. People cannot distinguish between seriousness and sarcasm in those plain, flat words on the screen.
9. End the conversation with an official sign-off, for example: "I am signing off now." That way, the other person will know that you believe the exchange is complete, and you won't have a bunch of empty chatter winding down the conversation. But wait a few moments to see whether the other person acknowledges your sign-off or instead says, "Wait--there's more!"

Do you agree with my suggestions? What have I missed? What makes instant messaging efficient for you?

Lynn
Syntax Training

A Warning for Writers

Two weeks ago I took my laptop and went away to an inn to work on a book I am writing. At the end of a long weekend, I was excited to have finished two more chapters totaling around 7,500 words.

Ten days ago my laptop was stolen. Those 7,500 words were on it.

I would have been sick at heart if my days of work had disappeared with the computer. Luckily I had saved the chapters on a flash drive in case I wanted to work on them on my desktop computer too.

A new laptop from Dell is on its way. But that weekend of inspired work would have been irreplaceable. I am so happy I saved my chapters to another piece of equipment, taking a step I often don't think about.

In a business writing class I was teaching this past week, an attendee mentioned that her laptop had just been stolen too.

So please don't think it doesn't happen. Back up your documents on flash drives and external hard drives. Good writing requires too much effort to have it taken from you.

Do it soon, if not now.

Lynn
Syntax Training 

Leading by Example

Over the past 1.5 days, I taught a business writing course for internal auditors. Throughout the program the vice president of internal auditing participated wholeheartedly in every learning activity. He shared his knowledge, admitted his knowledge gaps, and communicated his hopes and expectations for his team's audit reports and other written pieces.

That is leading by example.

Often corporate leaders want their staff to write more effectively, but they don't invest the time. They don't participate in the writing course, so they don't have the opportunity to tune up their own writing skills. As a result, they may have old-fashioned views and incorrect assumptions about today's business writing.

When the boss doesn't attend the writing class, people who do attend often bemoan their leader's absence. They want to learn more about their boss's expectations. They wish he or she were there learning the same lessons about concise, high-value reports and presentations. They would like their boss to understand their writing challenges, and they would appreciate their leader's opinion on how to handle sticky situations. Although they don't voice it, I wonder whether their leader's absence makes them question the priority he or she places on business writing.

To leaders who want their teams to write better, I say this: Lead by example. Write well. Share your knowledge. And if you schedule a training program in business writing, attend enthusiastically, side by side with your staff. They will learn more, simply from your presence.

In your opinion, how can leaders inspire better writing? I would love to hear from you.

Lynn
Syntax Training

Words That Guarantee Better Meetings

In a communications class this week, I worked with some managers and directors who recognized their many meetings were not as productive as they should be.

Part of the problem was that their meetings did not have a stated purpose with specific outcomes. Sure, they knew they were getting together to share information, plan, or solve problems--or maybe all three. But they did not plan, start, or conduct their meetings with a focus on the results they wanted.

What does their search for meeting success have to do with business writing? This: All they needed were a few words to focus their meetings on results.

Example:

Let's say the Spanish language committee at a company wants to hire a new Spanish instructor. One item on their meeting agenda might be: 

• Discuss interview questions.   

How would the group know they were successful in their discussion?

If the agenda included just one additional sentence, they would know when they had reached their goal:

• Outcome: Agree on behavioral interview questions.

When the meeting attendees agreed on the interview questions, they would know they had accomplished something.

Here's an example from a planning meeting:

• Agenda item: Discuss plans for trade show.
• Outcomes: (1) Confirm list of activities. (2) Identify who will coordinate each activity. (3) Decide on essential action items for this month.

The words outcomes and results guarantee better meetings. When you add them to your agenda, it's much easier to keep the meeting on task, especially when you review the outcomes or results you want at the start of your meeting. An agenda item like "discuss" can take a group anywhere, but "Confirm a list" and "Decide on actions" give everyone a focus. And they make it easy to leave a meeting smiling.

You can also guarantee high-value meetings by writing efficient meeting notes and minutes. Learn how in my live online class Meeting Notes Made Easy on May 4. Eight places are still available.

I wish you productive meetings!

Lynn
Syntax Training

 

Get Them to Turn in Their Paperwork

In my business writing seminars, people frequently complain that they cannot get others to act. They would like others to turn in paperwork, complete surveys, respond with their lunch order off the catering menu, and take similar actions. These actions will make life easier for the people in my writing classes. I empathize with their frustration, but together we are often stumped about a reliable way to get the responses we need.

Last week I attended the Japan-Seattle Suzuki International Institute (a music camp for children and their parents), and I saw a good idea in action at the end of the camp. All attendees who turned in their evaluation of the camp, with their name on it, were eligible for a drawing (raffle) right there on the spot.

I have seen the drawing used as a way to collect business cards. People often hesitate to enter the drawing because they don't want to get follow-up sales calls. And I have seen the online enticement of the "First 100 people to . . . will be entered in a raffle. . . ." It makes me wonder: How do I know whether I am one of the first 100 and whether my name is actually being entered in the raffle?

But at the end of music camp, everyone gladly completed the evaluation--and signed it. And because they signed it, they were probably more likely to comment thoughtfully.

Suggestion: If you need to gather people's paperwork, perhaps at the end of a meeting or conference, why not have an instant drawing? You could offer prizes that relate to the theme of the event. At Suzuki camp, for example, we were lured by such prizes as CDs of resident artists and calligraphy by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, who died in 1998 at the age of 100.

I am going to try this inspired approach the next time I need to reel in paperwork from reluctant colleagues. I believe it will work much better than nagging or a threat. What do you think?

Lynn

Proofreading Tips

If I said I never send out documents with errors, I would be lying. Just today I realized that the notebooks for two classes I taught recently had an error in one of the page titles. What should have said "Use Active Verbs Primarily" said "Use Passive Verbs Primarily"! (If you were in a class with me at the University of Washington or Russell Investment Group and you see that incorrect title on a page, please change it!)

Have you had errors get past you? If you have, you know it is not that we don't care about quality. Sometimes we care too much. The reason I occasionally have an error in a notebook is that I constantly customize. I change exercises, examples, and pages so that my classes are tailored to the audience. That takes time and invites errors. After all, when I have seen an exercise a hundred times and make a change in it, it is difficult to look at the page with fresh eyes. What used to say "Make Passive Verbs Active" became "Use Passive Active Verbs Primarily" to improve the logic of the exercise.

Other causes of errors are speed and productivity. If you are like us, you work fast and produce a lot. Unless you have a team of proofreaders to review your documents before you print or press Send, errors will slip through.

Given that rationale, here are a few proofreading suggestions to help you all of us:

1. Proofread out loud, even if it's just a whisper. Reading aloud requires more focus than silent reading, and it helps catch words like it for if. Note: You must read what is actually on the page or screen--not what you think ought to be there.
2. Read from a printed page rather than a screen, whenever it is practical. With a printed sheet, it is easier to move your finger over the words as you say them and to use a ruler or straight edge as a guide.
3. For a long document, check each element of content separately. For example, proofread separately  for headings, footers, page numbers, formatting consistency, etc.
4. Check the spelling of proper names at least once. If you are not sure of the spelling of a person's name, find out.
5. Let time pass between the writing, editing, and proofreading stages whenever it is possible. With the passage of time, your content will be fresher to you.

Do you have proofreading guidelines to share? Please add a comment below. And if you do your best work and an error still sneaks through, forgive yourself and try to take it lightly. Maybe the reader won't even notice. After all, for more than a year, our website mentioned clients in the pubic sector rather than the public sector. (Read about it here, along with a solution.) And we are still happily in business!

Lynn

One Way to Spot Spam

Everyone I know is getting hit hard by spam. If you are a small business person without an IT department to help you deflect spam, here is a tip that may help you--if you use Microsoft Outlook.

If you use Outlook and you are unsure whether an email is spam, you can use Options to learn more about the message without opening it. Here are the steps:

1. Left click once on the message. Clicking just once will not open it; it will highlight it.
2. Right click.
3. On the menu, click Options.

The Options screen will show you the Internet headers. You will find this information:

• The return path--that is, the email address of the person to whom you would reply. If this differs from who is shown as the sender, that is a sign of spam. For example, if the sender is shown in your normal email view as Sandy Smith, but the return path is xissys@someaddress.com, that is suspicious.
• Delivered to. You received the mail, but "Delivered to" tells you whether it was actually sent to you. For example, if I receive a message intended for akjhlajd (gibberish) rather than Lynn or Michael, it is spam.

The Internet headers will provide a lot of other information, for example, whether the message includes the word lottery or the phrases "credit consolidation" and "million dollars."

I curse the spammer every time I open what looks like a legitimate message but is actually a sneak attack about a sexual enhancement drug or mortgage refinancing. Just think what a wonderful world we might have if spammers gave up their malicious tasks and actually did meaningful work.

If you have ideas to help us avoid opening sneaky spam that gets through our filters, please share them. And read my Silly Spam Story.

Note: If you ever receive something from our company, Syntax Training, it will come from lynng or michaelj (plus our company name and .com)--not from ejlsuzlpz or any other weird collection of letters.

Lynn