Category — Learning resources

At The Women’s Summit 2009, four Learning Labs were run simultaneously in the afternoon, from 2.30pm-4.30pm. Learning Labs are highly interactive sessions at which experienced facilitators conduct training sessions to enhance participants’ work-related skills and knowledge. This year, the Learning Labs focussed mainly on developing the valuable soft skills of communication and creativity because these have the power to contribute in significant ways to career and business success. A further Lab was conducted on franchising as an alternative route for participants to enter the business sector. [Read more →]

Earn trust and confidence by writing well

When you are talking to someone face-to-face, you have lots of visual cues to
help you - your tone of voice, gestures, movement, eye-contact. It may not
be fair, but in the everyday world we are judged and influenced by all these criteria and more - even our occupation, height, dress and the way we look. Like it or not, it is through the way we speak and look that we earn trust and confidence.So, with none of these visual cues present in our written communication, how do we earn trust and confidence when we write letters, reports or e-mails?

In written communication, especially e-mail, we have to find other ways to evaluate the person who is ’speaking’ (i.e. writing). So how do we do that? We do that by looking at ‘style’.

How can you improve your ‘style’?

Style in written communication does not mean wearing a designer suit to do all your most important writing. Style means attention to proper spelling and punctuation, proper sentence construction instead of non-sentences, full spellings instead of abbreviations suitable only for sms. Style means being creative in what you write and how you write. It also means making your communication look visually-attractive (i.e. leaving a line space between paragraphs, using numbered points or bullets, also being consistent). Style also means considering appropriate tone and structuring your message logically.

I recently did a follow-up workshop for a client who had run my two-day business writing workshop two months earlier. I asked the participants what had changed since we met. They told me proudly:

1. We get straight to the point, using everyday language instead of beating about the bush with old-fashioned, useless phrases.
2. Our messages are structured more logically so the reader can clearly see the action needed.
3. We try to avoid all the passive phrases we used to use like ‘Please be advised’, ‘Please be reminded’, ‘Please find attached’.
4. We seem more approachable because our language is less formal and more friendly, as if we are having a conversation.
What are the benefits of ‘stylish’ writing?

These participants told me that paying attention to how they write has saved their time and increased efficiency. They felt that being more organised in their writing has helped to enhance understanding, avoid miscommunication, and increase their professional image. In particular they felt relationships had improved, and there was much better rapport with both internal and external customers. How great can that be? I felt like shouting out a proverbial “whoo hoo”!

What are the consequences?

Now for the big question. As a result of changing the way they write, what about the upshot, the end result? Here are some of the points they mentioned:

1. The replies they received were more effective, and more positive.
2. Requests were confirmed and issues resolved more promptly.
3. Productivity and efficiency were enhanced, with both time and cost savings.
4. They felt less frustration and more satisfaction.
5. External customers had even complimented some of them on the change in their writing, commenting that it was more friendly and simple.
6. There was less ‘ding-dong’, i.e. going back and forth to clarify.

The final point about the ‘ding-dong’ made me laugh. It’s something I hear regularly. How often have you received an e-mail that has been written carelessly, and you have to reply to ask questions clarifying things? The answer you receive may clarify some issues, but then it raises other queries. Eventually you get the job done, but look at all the wasted time - all the ‘ding-dong’.

We all grumble about e-mail overload, but how much of it is self-inflicted? Are we making rods for our own backs because of carelessness and sloppiness in the first place? Surely time spent making sure your message is right in the first place will be time saved cleaning up the mess later.

Effective, ‘stylish’ writing gives a professional impression of you and your organisation.

Effective writing helps to get things done, and it gets the right results. Writing effectively is perhaps the most demanding work we do. If you learn to pay attention to all the various aspects of style in your writing, you will increase the value of what you write, earn the respect of your readers, achieve better results, and you will have a distinct advantage in today’s e-world.

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© Shirley Taylor

 This article was contributed by Shirley Taylor who will be facilitating a Learning Lab - ‘Power Up Your Business Writing Skills’ - at the 2009 Women’s Summit. Click here for more details or here to register.

Shirley Taylor is CEO of Singapore-based ST Training Solutions Pte Ltd. www.shirleytaylortraining.com. Shirley specialises in training in business writing, e-mail and communication skills. She is series editor of the Success Skills series of books published by Marshall Cavendish International. www.STSuccessSkills.com

by Shirley Taylor

E-mail viruses make front-page newspaper headlines. They cost decent computer users a lot of money, they waste our time and energy, and they cause unimaginable distress to people all over the world. Could anything be worse? What about the damage that people are causing to themselves every day by taking e-mail for granted? The familiarity and convenience of e-mail is resulting in sloppy, careless habits that could ruin your business and your reputation just as surely as any e-mail virus.

Electronic mail is having a phenomenal effect on the way we communicate. E-mail is not just a quick, easy and relatively cheap way to keep in touch with family and friends. It has also become an essential tool in business, a fundamental part of the way in which we work. However the explosive growth of e-mail has created some problems, mainly because there have never been any guidelines on how to compose e-mail messages, no definitive guide to common standards and expectations among writers of e-mail. Consequently systems are being overloaded, communication is rampant, reputations are being damaged, feelings are being hurt and time is being wasted.

One of the main advantages of e-mail is speed, but the pressure of coping with an ever-increasing mailbox is adding to the pressures people already face. This is resulting in messages being sent without much thought or planning, with important details missing, with spelling and punctuation errors, and with abbreviations that some people don’t like and others simply don’t understand. Some messages look like they are written in code! And people are even neglecting the common courtesies of a greeting and sign-off just for the sake of speed!

High on the list of annoyances when I did some research for my new book E-mail Etiquette, was unfriendly tone. Emotions are hard to convey in e-mails, and some people type out exactly what they would say without thinking of the tone of voice that would be used to signal their emotions. With e-mail all we have are words. Without the right tone misunderstandings could easily happen, or you could offend and perhaps lose an important business contact - or even friend! Good writers learn to choose their words very carefully and get the tone just right.

E-mail and information overload is another serious problem, with some managers receiving hundreds of messages every day. But if we are suffering from overflowing inboxes, how much of it is self-inflicted? Has it become too easy to send messages to lots of people just because you can? We must learn to use e-mail more thoughtfully by recognising when we should and should not send messages. Do you really need to send all those CC, BCC and FWD copies? If you receive lots of messages that you don’t really need to see, tell the authors so that it doesn’t happen again. And tell your friends not to send those jokes and personal messages to your work e-mail address. Then there’s that prolonged e-mail exchange that lasts for days - wouldn’t it be better to pick up the phone? E-mail overload is contributing to a decline in oral communication skills - people send e-mails to the person in the next office rather than walk a few steps! So please remember that it’s good to talk and don’t let e-mail result in the death of conversation.

As more people use e-mail sloppy work is becoming a major annoyance. People are receiving poorly formatted messages in one continuous paragraph, poorly structured messages that are not specific in the response required, messages written all in capitals (equivalent to SHOUTING) or all in lower case, and of course messages with poor grammar, spelling and punctuation.

When I was doing some research for my book E-mail Etiquette, a friend of mine said:
“When I receive a message that has lots of mistakes - spelling errors, punctuation, grammar, I think the reader has no respect for me because he/she couldn’t take just one minute to check it through before hitting ’send’.”

I completely agree! The Internet has made it possible for us to communicate with people from all over the world. The only way those people can form an opinion of us is by looking at the way we write! Your credibility could be ruined with one swift click of the ’send’ button!

Today’s way of conducting business is very informal so that’s what we should aim for in our business writing too - natural, relaxed, friendly, conversational. The only place for standard boring overused clichés like Please find attached herewith, I am writing to inform you, Please be advised, I should be grateful if you would kindly, is the recycle bin! Busy businessmen and women haven’t got time to plough through loads of old-fashioned, long-winded jargon. Nor should they be subjected to abbreviated, coded, sloppy messages that are full of errors!

It’s important to take just as much care in composing e-mail messages as we do with formal letters, memos or faxes. We should use short words and simple expressions, short sentences and short paragraphs that are clear and concise but still courteous. We should take pride in composing effective messages that are structured logically. Most of all we need to identify with our readers, appreciate their feelings, and use words they will understand, written in an appropriate tone.

If you want to improve your electronic rapport with customers and colleagues, if you want to enhance your credibility and your reputation as well as your productivity, remember - it’s not a computer you are talking to - it’s a real live human being!

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This article was contributed by Shirley Taylor who will be facilitating a Learning Lab - ‘Power Up Your Business Writing Skills’ - at the 2009 Women’s Summit. Click here for more details or here to register.

Shirley Taylor is CEO of Singapore-based ST Training Solutions Pte Ltd. www.shirleytaylortraining.com. Shirley specialises in training in business writing, e-mail and communication skills. She is series editor of the Success Skills series of books published by Marshall Cavendish International. www.STSuccessSkills.com

by Shirley Taylor

The main purpose of any communication is not to sound impressive or to use long words that no-one can understand! The main purpose is to communicate clearly, be understood and be effective - and that means to achieve results from your writing. Here are six steps to help you achieve this:

1.  Structure your documents logically

Use fully-blocked style and open punctuation in all your letters, faxes, reports, e-mails, etc. Structure all your documents logically using my 4-point plan - make sure there is an introduction setting the scene, a central section stating all the details, and then draw it all together with a response/action section, and finally a simple close.

2.  Organise your points visually

Display your message appropriately to help get your message across. Numbered points and bullets are very helpful, and side headings can be useful when you have to include things like date/time/venue, or why not use Where? When? What time?

3.  Keep trim

Long sentences may confuse your reader. They will get to the end of a sentence and then have to go back to the beginning because they can’t remember what you said. Keep sentences short, maximum 7-20 words.

4.  Give your reader a break

Poor formatting is a common complaint from readers, especially e-mail. There is nothing worse than seeing 10-12 lines of words with no paragraphs. Use a new paragraph for each separate issue of the main theme, with each paragraph about 4-5 lines.

5.  Eradicate jargon

Avoid acronyms and specialist language unless you are sure it will be understood. KISS means keep it short and simple - that means simple words instead of long ones, and simple phrases instead of long sentences.

6.  Use familiar terms

If the reader doesn’t understand the words you use, they will not look them up in a dictionary - they just won’t be impressed and they will stop reading! Ditch the dinosaur language, cut out the commonly-used clichés that were made up by Great-Grandfather. Remember the golden rule of business writing in the 21st Century:

Write as you speak!

This article was contributed by Shirley Taylor who will be facilitating a Learning Lab - ‘Power Up Your Business Writing Skills’ - at the 2009 Women’s Summit. Click here for more details or here to register.

Shirley Taylor is CEO of Singapore-based ST Training Solutions Pte Ltd. www.shirleytaylortraining.com. Shirley specialises in training in business writing, e-mail and communication skills. She is series editor of the Success Skills series of books published by Marshall Cavendish International. www.STSuccessSkills.com

The key to a powerful presentation is to connect with members of your audience individually. This ‘human element’ is what makes the difference between an average presentation with some good information, and an excellent presentation that really impacts audience members on a personal level. [Read more →]

Yes and No.

Yes, if you are a non-native speaker speaking to a native English speaker (classified as English speakers from the UK, Australia, New Zealand and North America).

No, if you are a non-native English speaker speaking to another non-native speaker (classified as… everybody else). Let me explain. [Read more →]