Teaching Business Writing Archives

Highlighting for Your Reader

Yesterday I taught Writing Tune-Up for Peak Performance at one of my favorite organizations in Bellevue, Washington. In the class, one of the topics we covered is the use of visual cues to make information stand out. By visual cues, I am referring to headings,… continue reading

How to Give Feedback on Writing

On Saturday I received a glowing email from Scott in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, who offered several compliments on this blog. Among the detailed praise were words I loved reading: "well worth my time," "exceptionally well written," and "thank you for the considerable effort that you… continue reading

Email and Your Corporate Mission

Yesterday someone visited this site with an interesting search. The words in the person’s query were "linking mission statements with email etiquette." Those words immediately got my attention. What do mission statements have to do with email? I think there’s a strong link. The link… continue reading

Why Teach Business Writing?

I spent Friday in Portland, Oregon, at the regional conference of the ATD (Association for Talent Development) Cascadia Chapter. My husband Michael and I spent time there talking with training professionals about business writing. And why should anyone care about training employees and managers in… continue reading

Everyone Can Write Better

This week I led a business writing workshop with nine very smart business people. They do important analytic work for their company, which is the best in its class. Why, you might wonder, were sophisticated professionals in a business writing class? They were in class… continue reading

When Good Writing Goes Bad

In my business writing classes, I see a lot of very good work: beautifully written sentences, attractive formats, positive language, well-organized information, flawless punctuation. Nevertheless, when we sit together in small groups to discuss participants’ drafts, the reaction of readers isn’t always what writers had… continue reading