4 Ways to Sharpen Your Business Writing Skills

Job site Indeed defines business writing as a tool to communicate with coworkers, managers, stakeholders or clients. Business writing can be instructional, containing steps or processes in solving a problem like memos or user manuals, or informational, or as a reference to help readers make decisions.

Business writing can also be persuasive, getting readers to make a particular decision, such as purchasing a product or service. Last but not least, it can be transactional, which employees use when sharing information or getting a specific reaction from coworkers or clients.

But is business writing still important?

Business writing is the main avenue that transports all works, insights and interactions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when almost everyone was prompted to work from home.

Whether you’re just brushing up or picking up a new skill, here are four ways you can sharpen your business writing skills to communicate more effectively.

1. Be clear and concise

The main goal of business writing is to convey information. To get your objective clear, answer this question: why are you writing what you’re writing? Nailing that down makes your next writing steps more straightforward.

In business writing, you write to express than impress. Constantly read through your work to look for complex words and phrases that you can replace with short, commonly used ones. Get rid of unnecessary adverbs and adjectives. You can also consider changing sentences from passive voice to active voice to help make your writing more concise.

Additionally, logically organizing your content can significantly improve clarity. Remember that, if not everyone, most of us deal with overflowing inboxes every day, so that means you need to be clear and concise in conveying your message.

2. Write for your audience

You put yourself in your audience’s shoes when it comes to business writing. First, ask yourself who you are writing for. Is it to customers? A memo to colleagues? A sales call and pitch to a client? A proposal to your boss? Every answer means a different approach in writing, which means it will require a different word choice and overall tone.

For example, if you’re writing to someone outside your industry, you should do away with using specific industry jargon that they may not be familiar with. If you’re writing to a customer in your marketing materials, you might want to use a friendlier tone than a professional one. Save that for writing to colleagues, supervisors and company investors.

To learn more about the best copywriting techniques and approaches, listen to our interview with Eden Bidani on The Strategic Marketing Show:

Listen to the episode via your preferred pocast platform:

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3. Know your tone

Now, let’s get more into the details of tones in business writing. When writing about business, make sure you know when to use a conversational versus a professional tone. As mentioned, your tone will depend on who your audience is.

“A customer-facing message would typically embody an upbeat, positive tone with words that evoke a friendly tenor. A proposal to supervisors and stakeholders, on the other hand, would provide a more professional tone with concise language that conveys the message in a more formal structure,” says writing assistant software Grammarly.

You also have to consider which type of business writing you are doing. On the one hand, if you’re writing instructionally or informationally, you may want to consider using a more casual, easy-to-understand and direct-to-the-point speech.

On the other hand, if you’re writing to persuade or get a reaction in return, use a more professional and persuasive speech, especially if you’re aiming to sell. Persuasive speech is the art of convincing your audience to accept your point of view.

4. Master business writing tools

Let’s say you already got the hang of business writing—you are knowledgeable enough about your industry, have determined who your audience is and use the particular voice and tone. But there’s always a way you can take it up to the next level.

Business writing is challenging. Fortunately, some tools can help you write better and further propel your career. Try grammar and spell-checking tools like Grammarly and Microsoft Word’s Readability Assessment, as well as tone and clarity tools like Jargon Grader and Hemingway that assess business writing jargon and suggest simpler alternatives.

Lastly, explore online tools you can use to practice speed typing. Believe it or not, having an advanced typing speed greatly impacts your business writing skill. Aside from saving time, it also enables you to focus on your ideas and content creation. You can also take the old-fashioned way—adding books about business to your reading list. Having a deeper knowledge about a topic defeats any software tools out there.

Write to express, not to impress

All business writing has a goal to pursue, whether to instruct, prove a point or make a sale. Keep in mind that you are writing to express your objective. By being clear and concise, knowing your audience, adapting your tone depending on the situation and bettering yourself with tools at your disposal, you’ll be amazed at the difference the qualities of good writing can make for you and your business.