How to Write Effective Business English: Your Guide to Excellent Professional Communication

Description

Unlearn bad habits, sharpen your emails and improve your written communication throughout your business with How to Write Effective Business English. An easy-to-follow guide on how to write with confidence, whether or not English is your first language.

With new chapters on writing well across all disciplines, writing globally, and the impact of social media on workplace communication, this new edition prepares you to clearly liaise with your colleagues and to your target market in order to get your point across.

Not only is this for individuals who want to better their craft and build their confidence, but it’s also for multinational companies where communication is vital. Whether you’re fluent in English or still learning, all speakers can iron out areas where there are common misconceptions, and bring those skills into their workplace.

Fiona Talbot informs you on how to format your prose to cater for a business world, by using case studies from L’Oréal, Loaf Furniture and Octopus Energy to demonstrate how English is used internationally in business and to teach you how to address different scenarios, whilst putting your best foot forward. Express yourself in business in a clear manner on all platforms, and get your message across with impact.

Table of contents

Cover
Contents
Introduction
01 Business writing today
We’re almost all having to write in business today
Who are your readers?
What’s the purpose of your writing?
Readers take just a few seconds to judge your writing
How formal or informal do you need to be?
Your checklist for action
Reference
02 Why are you writing?
Let’s get personal
Winning business and keeping business: that’s why you write
Some principles to help you get started
Choosing the right style
Ideal communication
The Word Power Skills system: four easy steps to premier business writing
Getting a better understanding of ‘your inner marketer’?
Your checklist for action
03 It’s crucial to connect at every stage of your career
Effective writing connects people: an even greater must in hybrid workplaces!
Technical writing needs to ‘write the talk’
Scientific topics can be explained simply to wider audiences
Pool communication strengths: the rewards of generational diversity
Write to get that job
Write to recruit
Use word power to develop your career and get the results you need
Write for your boss
When you’re the boss, writing brings extra challenges!
Your checklist for action
References
04 Quality matters
What does quality mean to you?
Make an honest appraisal!
We all make mistakes, don’t we?
Written mistakes come in many forms
Further costs of getting your writing wrong
You can never fully outsource your writing
Proofreading tips
Your checklist for action
05 Telling your story through social media
Social media has shaken ‘the rules’ of business writing
Get into the social media mindset
Get your business message to anyone, anywhere, anytime
What are the key objectives?
How do companies shine through their social media interaction?
Writing that creates trust can create a community
Discoverability with added value
Further writing tips for key channels
What excites people so much they want to share it?
Call people to action – and check it’s worked
Telling your story
Your checklist for action
06 Standard or variant English – and changing punctuation and grammar
The English language vs business English
‘Standard’ and ‘variant’ English
Writing for both native and non-native English speakers
Some surprising problems with English for global business
So do define business English within your company
Standard or variant punctuation? It’s all about context
Grammar can change too
Paragraphs and other aids to structure
Questions
Your checklist for action
Reference
07 Writing globally? Or in multinational teams?
Looking at how you use English at work
Empathize with the extra challenges for non-native English speakers
Collaboration across cultures involves asking if unsure, and sharing tips
Some features regularly perplex all readers
Non-native English writers can have an advantage!
Your checklist for action
08 Email and instant messaging
General
Email
Writing emails
Email scenarios to watch out for
Structure your emails
Design how you write emails
Instant messaging and texting
Structure in instant messages and texts
Your checklist for action
09 Practical conventions and common confusions
Dates
Time
Numbers
Measurements
Words that can confuse both native English and non-native English writers
High word count isn’t always linked to productivity!
Your checklist for action
10 Look to the future
How does writing make readers feel?
Paper is likely to stay around
Letters
When flexibility is key, be prepared to adapt letter- writing
A letter that involves the reader with the company’s narrative
CVs/résumés and cover letters
Your checklist for action
Reference
Conclusion: What will you do differently
– and better?
Index