Nice words. Wrong tone.
Happens every business day. People get the words right but the tone’s all wrong.
Doesn’t matter what you’re writing. Business letter, sales letter, memo, proposal, report…trust me, tone matters. Yet it gets precious little respect from most business people.
From top executive to entry level, people like to sound business-like. Big words. Formal language. Saying something in 53 words when 17 will do. You know exactly what I mean. You’ve received them…maybe even sent a few. If so, today is a wonderful time to loosen up.
Put the following seven tips to work when writing your next important business communication. You’ll sound more sincere and come across as someone human. That’s important. People always prefer doing business with other people…not stuffy business types.
1. Talk your first draft as you write.
2. Talk as one friend to another.
3. Visualize your target. Make up a face and personality if you have to.
4. Use some cliches but use them sparingly. They humanize you.
5. Use contractions when they seem to flow. They add warmth.
6. Read your finished draft out-loud. The tongue sometimes catches what the eye misses.
7. If possible, let it rest overnight before sending it out. Incubation often hatches a host of mistakes that weren’t there the day before.
Put these seven suggestions to work when you write an important business communication and your personality will shine through. Let people know what a really nice person you are.
Doug C. Grant is the author of the new e-book, ‘How to
Move from Cubicle to Corner Office with THE SECRETS OF
POWER WRITING’. A FREE preview plus details on receiving a
FREE Blue Pencil Edit for one of your own imcoms is
available by autoresponder e-mail:
mailto:edit@n…
