Business Writing For Dummies

Do you wish you could write better? In today’s business world, good writing is key to success in just about every endeavor. Writing is how you connect with colleagues, supervisors, clients, partners, employees, and people you’ve never met. No wonder strong writers win the jobs, promotions and contracts. Business Writing For Dummies shows you, from the ground up, how to create persuasive messages with the right content and language every time―messages your readers will understand and act on.

This friendly guide equips you with a step-by-step method for planning what to say and how to say it in writing. This sytem empowers you to handle every writing challenge with confidence, from emails to proposals, reports to resumes, presentations to video scripts, blogs to social posts, websites to books. Discover down-to-earth techniques for sharpening your language and correcting your own writing problems. Learn how to adapt content, tone and style for each medium and audience. And learn to use every message you write to build better relationships and solve problems, while getting to the “yes” you want.

Whether you’re aiming to land your first job or are an experienced specialist in your field, Business Writing For Dummies helps you build your communication confidence and stand out.

• Present yourself with authority and credibility
• Understand and use the tools of persuasion
• Communicate as a remote worker, freelancer, consultant or entrepreneur
• Strategize your online presence to support your goals
• Bring out the best in people and foster team spirit as a leader
• Prepare to ace interviews, pitches and confrontations

Good communication skills, particularly writing, are in high demand across all industries. Use this book to gain the edge you need to promote your own success, now and down the line as your career goals evolve.

Table of contents :
Title Page……Page 3
Copyright Page……Page 4
Table of Contents……Page 5
Introduction……Page 13
Foolish Assumptions……Page 15
Icons Used in This Book……Page 16
Where to Go from Here……Page 17
Part 1 Winning with Writing……Page 19
Chapter 1 Making Writing Your Weapon for Success……Page 21
Putting Strategic Writing to Work for You……Page 22
Planning and Structuring Every Message……Page 25
Succeeding with email, letters and business documents……Page 30
Writing online: From websites to blogs to tweets……Page 31
Remembering to think globally……Page 32
Chapter 2 Planning Your Message Every Time……Page 35
Adopting the Plan-Draft-Edit Principle……Page 36
Defining your goal……Page 37
Defining your audience……Page 39
Brainstorming the best content for your purpose……Page 45
Imagining your readers……Page 48
Connecting instantly with your reader……Page 50
Focusing on what’s-in-it-for-me……Page 51
Persuading with benefits, not features……Page 52
Finding the concrete, limiting the abstract……Page 53
Choosing Your Written Voice: Tone……Page 55
Sound positive, never negative……Page 56
Align tone with the occasion, relationship and culture……Page 57
Writing as your authentic self……Page 58
Showing active caring and respect……Page 60
Personalizing what you write……Page 61
Framing messages with “you” not “I”……Page 62
Chapter 3 Making Your Writing Work: The Basics……Page 65
Writing to be understood……Page 66
Applying readability guidelines……Page 67
Finding the right rhythm……Page 71
Achieving a conversational tone……Page 73
Relying on everyday wording……Page 75
Choosing reader-friendly words……Page 77
Focusing on the real and concrete……Page 78
Finding action verbs……Page 79
Crafting comparisons to help readers……Page 80
Employing Reader-Friendly Graphic Techniques……Page 82
Choosing a typeface……Page 83
Adding effective graphics……Page 85
Breaking space up with sidebars, boxes and lists……Page 86
Chapter 4 Self-Editing: Professional Ways to Improve Your Work……Page 89
Choosing a way to edit……Page 90
Distancing yourself from what you write……Page 92
Assessing content success……Page 94
Assessing your language……Page 95
Avoiding telltale up-down-up inflection……Page 97
Looking for repeat word endings……Page 98
Pruning prepositions……Page 101
Cutting all non-contributor words……Page 103
Thinking “action”……Page 106
Trimming “there is” and “there are”……Page 107
Using the passive deliberately……Page 108
Reining in jargon……Page 109
Cooling the clichés……Page 111
Minimizing modifiers……Page 112
Energizing What You Write……Page 113
Chapter 5 Fixing Common Writing Problems……Page 115
Paragraphing for logic……Page 116
Building with subheads……Page 118
Working with transitions……Page 119
Working in lists: Numbers and bulleting……Page 121
Catching Common Mistakes……Page 125
Using comma sense……Page 126
More punctuation tools……Page 128
Using “however” correctly……Page 130
Weighing “which” versus “that”……Page 131
Beginning with “and” or “but”……Page 132
Ending with prepositions……Page 133
Match nouns and pronouns……Page 134
Be mindful of personal pronouns……Page 136
Spot common pronoun errors……Page 138
Their, there and they’re……Page 139
Your, yours and you’re……Page 140
Checking the big picture……Page 141
Cutting to fit……Page 143
Creating your personal writing improvement guide……Page 145
What about my personal style?……Page 146
Part 2 Applying Your Skills to Business Messages and Documents……Page 147
Chapter 6 Writing Email and Letters That Get Results……Page 149
Fast-Forwarding Your Agenda with Email……Page 150
Writing subject lines that pull people in……Page 152
Drafting a strong email lead……Page 155
Clarifying what you want……Page 157
Assessing what matters to your audience……Page 158
Determining the best substance……Page 161
Structuring Your Middle Ground……Page 162
Closing Strong……Page 164
Monitoring length and breadth……Page 165
Going short: Words, sentences, paragraphs……Page 166
Using graphic techniques to promote clarity……Page 167
Using the signature block……Page 169
Using Email for Marketing……Page 170
Composing Effective Letters……Page 173
Creating Valued Reports……Page 181
Writing activity reports……Page 182
Reporting project results……Page 187
Fast-Tracking Your Proposals……Page 188
Writing formal proposals……Page 189
Writing informal proposals……Page 191
Writing a business plan……Page 194
Applying for grants……Page 195
Writing an Executive Summary……Page 197
Giving perspective to complex material……Page 198
Determining what matters……Page 199
Putting headlines to work……Page 201
Writing Tips for All Business Documents……Page 202
Part 3 Writing to Present Yourself Effectively……Page 205
Connecting with Your Readers……Page 207
Drawing from psychology……Page 208
Communicating with conviction……Page 209
Centering on benefits……Page 210
Creating a friendly and reasonable tone……Page 211
Giving people time……Page 212
Step 2: Characterize your audience……Page 213
Step 3: Determine the best content……Page 214
Step 6: Draft the rest of the message……Page 215
Choosing words that persuade……Page 216
Structuring material to support persuasion……Page 218
Knowing what language to choose and what to avoid……Page 220
Finding Your Core Business Message……Page 221
Searching for true value……Page 223
Making your case in business terms……Page 226
Finding, Shaping and Using Stories……Page 227
Finding your business story……Page 229
Building your story……Page 230
Story-writing tips……Page 232
Translating Words into Visuals……Page 233
Chapter 9 Speaking Well for Yourself……Page 237
Building Your Elevator Speech……Page 238
Defining your goal……Page 239
Strategizing your content……Page 240
Using your mini-speech……Page 243
Representing your organization and yourself……Page 244
Preparing and Giving Presentations……Page 245
Planning what to say……Page 246
Crafting your presentations with writing……Page 250
Integrating visuals……Page 252
Standing and delivering……Page 253
Composing Talking Points for Live Interaction……Page 254
Chapter 10 Writing for the Job Hunt……Page 257
Knowing and Expressing Your Value……Page 258
Pinpointing your personal strengths……Page 259
Pulling your ideas together……Page 261
Assessing All Your Skills……Page 262
Writing Résumés That Win the Race……Page 265
Choosing a format……Page 266
Sidestepping presentation problems……Page 268
Styling Language for Résumés……Page 269
Using keywords: An essential……Page 270
Writing the summary statement……Page 271
Building your work history section……Page 273
Showing off strengths……Page 274
Planning a cover letter……Page 277
Opening with pizzazz……Page 278
Requesting informational interviews……Page 280
Saying thank you……Page 282
Part 4 Writing for Online Media……Page 285
Chapter 11 Writing for the Digital World……Page 287
Positioning Yourself Online……Page 288
Choosing Your Platforms……Page 289
Breaking down your goals……Page 292
Finding your audiences……Page 293
Writing for Digital Media……Page 296
Loosening up……Page 297
Keeping language simple and clear……Page 298
Communicating credibility……Page 299
Cutting hype, maxing evidence……Page 300
Devising nonlinear strategies……Page 301
Incorporating interactive strategies……Page 302
Engaging with social media……Page 304
Exploring content ideas……Page 306
Networking with Twitter……Page 307
Planning your Twitter program……Page 308
Guidelines for tweeting……Page 309
Working with LinkedIn……Page 310
Creating a Website from the Ground Up……Page 315
Shaping your site to goals and audience……Page 317
Planning a basic website……Page 319
Creating the site structure……Page 321
Assembling and writing a home page……Page 322
Writing the About Us page……Page 324
Writing the inside pages……Page 325
Graphic tips for websites……Page 327
Creating a Blog……Page 329
Choosing your best subject……Page 331
Drawing from the journalist’s toolkit……Page 333
Creating magnetic headlines……Page 336
Considering articles for publication……Page 337
Telling Your Story with Video……Page 338
Using video to accomplish goals……Page 339
Scripting your video……Page 340
Producing video step-by-step……Page 341
Sharing expertise with video……Page 345
Introducing yourself with video……Page 346
Part 5 Leveraging Your Writing Skills……Page 349
Chapter 13 Writing for the Workplace: Managing Up, Down and Sideways……Page 351
Communicating as a Manager……Page 352
Relating to your team members……Page 354
Writing to inspire and motivate……Page 355
Delivering bad news……Page 356
Writing good news messages……Page 362
Criticizing with kindness……Page 364
Writing requests and giving orders……Page 365
Writing to Manage Up……Page 366
Guarding your tone……Page 369
Avoiding the blame game……Page 371
Making it easy to respond……Page 372
Writing to Colleagues, Collaborators and Teammates……Page 373
Using Backup Memos……Page 374
Language for Communicating Sideways……Page 375
Using Turnaround Techniques……Page 376
Communicating with a Team of Equals……Page 378
Chapter 14 Writing for Entrepreneurs and Virtual Workers……Page 381
Communicating as a Virtual Worker……Page 382
Teaming Techniques and Practices……Page 383
Making email more personal……Page 386
Using team chat to your advantage……Page 387
Using teleconferencing effectively……Page 388
Charting your communication plan……Page 391
Pitching the media for free publicity……Page 394
Introducing yourself in writing……Page 398
Writing to pitch your services……Page 402
Creating letters that get you in……Page 404
Part 6 The Part of Tens……Page 413
Use Writing to Problem-Solve……Page 415
Handwrite to Spark Creativity……Page 416
Take Notes about Your Work……Page 417
Prepare for Confrontation……Page 418
Create Profiles of Your VIPs……Page 419
Write Gratefully……Page 420
Chapter 16 Ten Steps to Writing Your Own Book……Page 421
Envision Your Finished Book……Page 422
Think about Marketing — Early……Page 423
Break the Writing into Pieces……Page 424
Assess the Practicalities……Page 425
Write a Proposal……Page 426
Draft the Copy……Page 427
Liven Up Your Content……Page 428
Check Out Self-Publishing Options……Page 429
Index……Page 430
EULA……Page 435