Online Business English writing tips: Benefits of high impact Business Writing

Communications skills be it in English or any other language in the workplace are crucial to your success. As an online English speaking course in India, we offer online Business English lessons to many working professionals and job aspirants.

The best online English speaking courses in India will even have an entire segment dedicated towards polishing English communication skills. The primary communication skills are speaking, listening, reading and writing (applicable to all languages).

Many working professionals enroll to our courses and practice English speaking with our online English tutors. With a series of cleverly structured lessons and assignments, our online English teachers use conversational lessons to guide our students towards fluency. Written assignments are used to check English grammar, English vocabulary as well writing styles.

A recurrent theme amongst most of our learners is the lack of clarity when it comes business communication in the work place. This is commonly observed amongst all online spoken English courses! In today’s social age, our conversations are impulsive and extremely spontaneous. The fine line between a formal versus as informal response is blurring.

With the vast amount of “over-sharing” most individuals are confused when we ask them what an impact business correspondence means. And the confusion is more rampant when it comes to writing skills!

What does Business writing mean and what is its significance?

Business writing is an important piece of writing that conveys relevant information to the reader in an effective manner. It includes memos, emails, reports, proposals and notices. Good business writing shares significant information and keeps the concerns of the audience in mind.

The following are some examples of business writing that you may encounter in the workplace:

· E- Mail

One of the most common types of business writing is Email writing. The sender can convey their message to a recipient using email in no time. Business Emails often include a salutation, closing statement and the sender's contact information. This type of Email is concise and conveys a single message for the receiver to take a quick action.

· Business Letter

A business letter refers to a formal document that an individual sends to a colleague, supervisor or professional associate. For example, an employee may write a leave application letter to convey the reason for leaving, or a resignation letter to convey their decision to leave a job and many more.

· Reports

Report often describes an event or project that has already taken place or is going to happen in your business. A business report contains necessary information about the business or a specific project. It provides data, research and other information to help the stakeholders make business-related decisions.

· Memorandum or Memo

Memos are brief messages sent to people to communicate with others on a topic. You may write a memo to thank someone for their hard work or to update them on a project’s progression. Typically, companies use memos for mass communications rather than personal messages. For example, the Human Resources Department may send a memo regarding a declaration of a policy to all members of the organisation. Memos may include an introduction, body paragraph, conclusion and the sender's contact information just like other business writing types.

· Handbooks

A handbook is a manual to instruct employees. It provides information to ensure that the employees understand and comply with company policies and procedures. Some employees receive manuals that provide instructions they may use to perform their job or complete the tasks given to them. Employees need all this information in an easy and understandable language to help empower them at work.

· Meeting Agendas

A meeting agenda is a document that outlines the topics covered during a meeting and the goals that the team needs to achieve. If everyone has a printed agenda in front of them, they’re more likely to stay on the topics and not get diverted. It makes meetings more efficient and productive.

A meeting agenda is not like a full-fledged letter. It consists of an outline with short phrases, stating the schedule of events. It also defines how much time to allot to each task or topic. The meeting agenda also may contain other details, such as the date, time and location of the meeting.

· Press Releases

If you work in advertising or marketing, you might have to write a press release. Press releases are formal announcements about events or products your company is launching. Organizations use press releases to share announcements with an external audience. It may be published on their website or newspapers. Usually, it can be written by adding personal elements by including testimonials or quotes from relevant stakeholders.

· Newsletters

Newsletter is for providing information to people about important projects or any event. It is a persuasive form of business writing, which may be used to provide news and other important information about the company to employees. Many companies send out newsletters weekly, bi-monthly, monthly or quarterly.

Internal company newsletters may use less formal language to build excitement about upcoming events, celebrate recent successes or highlight impressive employees. External newsletters tend to use a casual style to appeal and relate to their customers.

Tips for effective business writing

Here are some tips you need to follow for effective business writing:

Know Your Audience: Before writing, think about your readers. This step can help you decide the relevant content, along with the appropriate language and tone to use. If you want to achieve the desired result, it is crucial to understand how and when to use different business writing styles.
Keep it Crisp & Concise: When sending out messages, try to keep your messages short and brief. Short sentences, paragraphs and documents have a better chance of attracting the attention of the readers. Don’t include any unnecessary words or irrelevant information. Keep your messages focused on your main point.
Don’t Confuse with Jargon: Every field has jargons and technical terms. But if you’re writing for people outside your field, keep in mind to not include these acronyms or you may create confusion. For example, when you email to a supervisor, you may require a more formal tone than the one you send to a close co-worker. Similarly, formatting helps get the message effectively across to your audience. Proper font, spacing, and alignment of your document improves readability, reducing unnecessary frustration for your audience.
Always Proofread: Reviewing your document before sending or submitting them is very essential. Take out time to fix and remove any spelling, grammatical or other errors. A document that has no errors impresses readers as well as demonstrates your professionalism. You can take help of spell checkers as they are useful tools, but you need to be more alert and proofread them yourself to avoid any grammatical errors.

Writing is a skill and we all know that skills improve with practice. Keep reading well-written material every day, and be attentive to word choice, sentence structure, style, and flow. Before submitting your writing, give adequate time for editing and revising. You can also get someone you trust to provide feedback on your work. Effective business writing takes time to learn but with the right technology, you can start writing perfectly in no time.

Remember, you won’t master business writing overnight. Business Writing is a skill that takes a lot of time and practice to develop. But once you get comfortable with it, you’ll possess a valuable job skill for a lifetime.