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The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

Do you ever get annoyed when you see advertisements or signs that have misspellings or garbled grammar on them? I do. It makes me wonder: Is the advertiser just incompetent, or don’t they care if they insult my intelligence?

Personally, I can forgive the occasional typo in newspaper ads and flyers—it’s the rotten writing on banners and store windows I’m talking about. Like the sign outside a furniture store in my old neighborhood that advertised Kitchens and Dinning Rooms.

Dinning rooms? My house isn’t the quietest on the block—we do have two children—but we certainly don’t have a designated area just for making noise. I mean, who wants to run to another room if they feel an outburst coming on? What kind of insanity is that?

Okay, so the furniture store sign must have meant dining rooms, but they couldn’t be bothered to fix the typo because that sign was still there a year later when I moved from the neighborhood. And no, I didn’t move just because of the sign.

What I’m trying to say is: If you want your business to be taken seriously, you need to be sure your printed words say what you mean and mean what you say.

This goes for anything released for public viewing: ads, brochures, sales letters, invoices, websites, and yes, even e-mails. How can your customers trust the quality of your work if your written communications show that you’re sloppy and careless?

Clients want to know that you’re in business to serve them, that you care. That you’re paying attention. That’s why it’s important for you to master the basics of effective writing. You want to convey the image of being a professional—someone who cares about your customers’ perception of your business. If you only get one chance to make a good impression, shouldn’t it be your best?

Here are some tips to help you look good in writing, without having to relearn all that Language Arts stuff about dangling participles and adverbial clauses:

1. Write like you talk, as if speaking to an acquaintance, minus the swear words or slang. Try to keep the tone casual unless, of course, you’re working on your PhD dissertation on nuclear physics or the redesign of the Space Shuttle.
2. Use action words, like “intend” (as in “we intend to start building” rather than “it is our intention to…”), and “understand” (as in “I understand you are…” rather than “it is my understanding that…”). Action words propel the reader forward.
3. Keep it simple and easy to read. Use commonly known words, but choose the strongest one possible (“strive” is livelier than “try,” and “bungled” is better than “messed up”). By choosing more illustrative words, you can cut out wasted words like “really” and “very.”
4. Get to the point. Grab their attention right away with a killer first sentence so they’ll keep reading, and say what you mean in the most direct way possible. Each sentence should offer something new and lead the reader right into the next sentence or paragraph. Avoid excessively long sentences too. You don’t want to bore your reader or make them feel stupid because they don’t understand what you’re trying to say.
5. Write for your audience, not for yourself. Think like a customer when you’re drafting promotional materials or advertisements. They want to know, “What’s in it for me and why should I care?” Give them a reason to care.

   Show them in words the benefits they’ll get from your product or service. Don’t use industry jargon or slang unless your audience is in the industry and understands the terminology.

6. Watch out for those commonly confused words, like “affective” and “effective,” and “there/their/they’re” and “you’re/your” and possibly the most misused of all: “its/it’s.” When in doubt, check the dictionary.
7. Proofread everything. Twice. Then let someone else proofread it. Just because you’ve used spellchecker doesn’t mean it makes sense.

Your goal in business writing is to communicate something to your reader, whether it’s a call to action (asking them to buy), or a request for information. If they can’t figure out what your message means, they probably won’t do what you want. Could be a problem if you’re trying to make sales.

So write clearly. Say what you mean and mean what you say. And pay attention, because your customers are.

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Copyright 2005 by Angel Brown. All rights reserved.