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How to Sharpen your Business Writing Skills

Rahul Pandita
Interpersonal communication, soft-skills, business etiquette and business writing. These are some of the attributes that employers look forward to these days while selecting new candidates or promoting their existing ones. Business writing is crucial for any business, therefore it is important that one develops the necessary.
Business writing is an important skill and has become a desired attribute in an individual's resume. While new mediums of communication have developed over the years, business writing still holds prime importance in conducting a business. There are some people who are naturally gifted and can put down their thoughts easily and effectively.
The other group comprises people who struggle to put across their point firmly through their writing. Fortunately, business writing as an art can be developed through knowledge and practice. Let us take a look at some tips which can help you to sharpen this skill.

Tips to Improve Business Writing Skills
  • The first thing that you should keep in mind while writing a business document is the reader. You should write the business letter is such a way that it can be easily interpreted by the readers. To be successful at this, you need to know your target audience, that is, who is going to read the document. 
If you use a lot of jargon, your reader may not be able to comprehend them, which can lead to confusion and ambiguity. So, it is important to write a business document from a reader's point of view.
For example, if you have to mention International Monetary Fund in your article, it is advisable to avoid the abbreviation IMF, because everybody might not have heard of it.
  • The layout of your document should give the letter a formal look. While writing a business letter, you shouldn't use bright colors and fancy fonts. The letter should preferably start with an introduction followed by the objective. 
The conclusion should summarize all your points once again so that the reader gets a clear idea as to what you are trying to put across. You can use bullet lists to make it easy for the reader to go through all the points. Formatting your document plays an important part in ensuring that your letter looks professional.
  • In order to make the reader believe that the letter is written by a prolific writer, some people tend to go overboard with their writing and use bombastic words. It is important for you to remember that business letters should have a universal acceptability. 
Your business letter has to be written in such a way that people who do not have English as their first language should be able to easily understand what you are trying to communicate.
  • Writing involves a lot of brainstorming and this can sometimes impact the organization of your letter. The recommended way of writing a business letter is to write all your thoughts on a piece of paper and then go about editing your document.
People who spend a considerable time in editing their documents usually have well-organized letters that are concise and effectively communicate your ideas.
  • If you are writing a business letter which is aimed at getting potential investors for your company, then it is important to use the skill of persuasive writing in your letter. Investors usually receive hundreds of letters each day, so you have to ensure that your letter is able to grab the attention of the reader. 
The best way you can do this is by writing a persuasive introduction also known as the 'hook', because this is the part which is read by most people and if you are able to impress your reader with this, there is a high possibility that he will go on to read your whole letter.
  • If you have been given the responsibility of writing a press release for your organization, then your writing comes under much more scrutiny. You should spend a considerable time in framing each word of your document and proofread it several times before going public with it. 
If you are writing your business letter on a computer, then your job becomes a bit easier as most computers automatically check for any spelling or grammatical errors. But you should not rely heavily on technology as sometimes there are mistakes that the computer would not be able to identify.
These were some tips which can help you in improving your business writing skills. As a writer, you are immensely responsible of portraying the right image of your company. Improving your business skills also allows you to develop your interpersonal skills and therefore, it is essential that you put in the desired effort.
As someone has rightly said that to become a good writer, you need to read a lot. So, reading books by accomplished writers can also give you an insight into the finer points of business writing.