As the author, naturally I’m happy if you read the whole book in the sequence I created for it and build your skills step by step. However, you can equally choose to dip into chapters and sections as you need them or the spirit moves you. Use the table of contents or index to find what you want and after you’re there, you may see options for delving further into subjects elsewhere in the book.
I organize the book into six parts.
This part gives you the whole groundwork for writing everything well. Discover a planning structure that helps you strategize your message in every medium and a set of techniques for writing it the best possible way. Apply practical approaches to edit and revise your own work, which empower you to fine-tune your writing and enjoy the process more.
Email and letters remain important communication staples. Everyday messaging helps you build your business relationships and professional image while accomplishing your day-to-day goals. More formal business materials like reports and proposals can be turning-point opportunities. This part shows you how to identify your own writing problems and correct them, and practice a thinking structure that lets you find your best content every time.
Strategic thinking based on writing helps you succeed in person as well as in media. This part shows you the how-to you need to create effective elevator speeches and presentations, find and craft your personal story, produce video, and develop talking points to guide you in face-to-face situations, plus tips and techniques for the job hunt: résumés, cover letters, and networking messages.
Content is king … but today’s online reader and consumer have infinite choices, and you need your contributions to engage quickly and deliver substance. Writing is the cornerstone of online media. This part shows you how to adapt your writing style for digital readers, adopt effective techniques, and plan and build blogs and websites. This part also shows you how to create a social media program to build your audience, reputation, authority, and networks.
Both in-house workers and independents – business owners, consultants, and freelancers – benefit from thinking like entrepreneurs. This part covers the tools of persuasion, marketing yourself, pitching the media, communicating with teams and bosses, and writing tough messages when you’re the boss.
Many readers find this section the most fun section of the For Dummies book series. Look here for ten punchy ideas to advance your career with writing, how to produce quality video, and how to energize your résumé.
Icons Used in This Book
To help you focus on what’s most important and move it into memory, look to the icons.
You’ll also find sections that begin with, Try This:. Why leave all the work to me? Take these opportunities to try your own hand or apply an idea. Nothing builds your skills like practice – and I think you’ll enjoy it, and feel more confident.
Beyond the Book
In addition to what you’re reading now, this book also comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that gives you even more pointers on how to write effectively in the business world. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Business Writing For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
Starting at the beginning gives you a foundation that applies to everything you write. But if you prefer diving right in for help on a specific challenge, by all means do so. The advice may suggest other sections for more depth and you can follow up as you choose.
Everyone learns differently. Grown-ups enjoy the advantage of knowing their own learning style. Furthermore, we all have our own writing problems to recognize and address. I tell you freely that I have my own, and many of the examples of transforming blah wording to a more powerful version come from editing my own first drafts. To be most useful, I offer choices – different ways to identify problems and improve everything you write.
Build a personal repertoire of techniques that work for you, then take this toolkit on the road with you. Doing so brings you a more successful journey, new confidence, and a lot more fun along the way.
Part 1
Winning with Writing
Learn the core elements of good business writing to solve your most pressing communication challenges.
See how a goal-plus-audience strategy will never fail you, no matter how hard the writing challenge seems.
Learn how you can make people care about your message by connecting with your reader, highlighting the benefits, and showing them “what’s-in-it-for-me.”
Understand how to write for readability and impact in today’s business world using the tools of writing – words, sentences, and structure – to say what you mean in a way most likely to earn respect, support, and agreement.
Learn how to switch into the editor’s role and fix common writing problems so that your messages accomplish what you want.
Chapter 1
Make Writing Your Not-So-Secret Weapon
❯❯ Rising above the pack with good writing
❯❯ Understanding the three imperatives of strategic writing
❯❯ Using an easy structure to plan everything you write
❯❯ Writing successfully for print, online, visual, and spoken media
Delivering your message well and being heard. What could be more important in today’s world of over-communication?
If your career ladder involves applying for jobs, you need strong résumés, letters, and face-to-face skills. To earn a promotion, your everyday communication must signal your reliability, judgment, and resourcefulness. If you run your own business, or work as a consultant or other professional, I bet your success depends on proposals and presentations. And today, whatever our aspirations, most of us want to create an effective online presence. We want to team successfully with others and advocate for our own needs and ideas.
The foundation for all of this, of course, is … writing! Surprisingly few people realize this. When they think about polishing their communication skills, most people jump straight to presentations. Knowing how to give a good speech may seem sexier than writing, but it leapfrogs past the reality: Even a 20-second elevator pitch needs to be written before it’s spoken. Good websites, videos, Twitter campaigns, blogs, and most other communication tools start with the written word.
There’s a simple reason for this. Human beings think in language. No matter how big a role visuals play in a communication “product,” whether print or digital, writing provides the indispensable support structure for planning. And if even a few words appear in the ultimate message, they must be just the right ones.
In this chapter, I highlight the core elements of good business writing and introduce a planning structure that enables you to figure out what to say and how to say it in just about every circumstance. This step-by-step approach to writing works