Teaching Business Writing Archives

Does the 5-Sentence Email Work?

A participant in a business writing program recently told me his goal was to write emails of no more than 5 sentences. He is the second person in his company who mentioned this writing goal to me. But is a 5-sentence email a legitimate goal?… continue reading

What’s Wrong With This Writing?

Last week I wrote the flyer for a business writing class I am offering online for the first time: Writing Tune-Up for Peak Performance. In the flyer, I included brief examples of typical business writing that needs tuning up. Thinking you might enjoy testing yourself on the items, I… continue reading

A Passive Verb to Change

I was reviewing an email today for our Email Intelligence online class, when I came across a good example of a passive verb to change. Here is the context: The writer, whom I will call Kelly, is emailing managers to ask them to find volunteers for… continue reading

Whose Fault Is Bad Writing?

I laughed at myself today, and the situation reminded me of bad business writing. Here it is: We have a high school exchange student from the Middle East living with us this semester. Her household chore is to empty the dishwasher and put the dishes away… continue reading

Working on a Writing Brand

In a Writing Tune-Up for Peak Performance class, a young African-American man (I’ll call him Edward) told us he was having trouble developing his writing “brand.” I wondered what he meant, and guessed (silently) that Edward was trying to figure out how to express himself professionally… continue reading

A Rarely Recognized Cause of Inefficient Writing

Working with over a hundred people on their business writing over the past seven days, I recognized once again that people’s writing can be slowed down and weakened by something that has nothing to do with words. That something is lack of knowledge of Microsoft Word… continue reading

A Tale of Two Emails

Yesterday I received two solicitations by email. One succeeded with me; the other failed. Notice what works in this message, whose writer gave me permission to share it with you: Subject: Visit Request Good Afternoon Lynn, On behalf of the Holiday Inn Seattle &… continue reading

Gay Apparel? Yes, Language Changes

Over the weekend I was singing Christmas carols, when I came upon a familiar line in “Deck the Halls”: “Don we now our gay apparel.” Gay apparel? Yes. When the song was written, the word gay meant “joyful, happy” and “celebratory”–not homosexual. Singing “Don we now… continue reading

Should You Help People Who Use Odd Language?

What would you do if someone who speaks English as a second, third, or fourth language used an odd expression–repeatedly–in messages to you? What would you do if someone from another English-speaking country regularly used an odd expression in messages to your company? These questions… continue reading

Thank You in Advance

In email, letters, and memos that include a request, writers often end with one of these statements: “Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.” “Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.” In comments on another blog post, one reader said she… continue reading