Writing Secrets You Must Know
Writing better is critical for students. But it's even more important for business communicators.
Let's face it?if you write succinctly, you can (a) win promotions, (b) lead people with your creative ideas, and (c) create instructions for your employees to follow.
Therefore, here are five secrets about business communications you must know:
1. You must write simply - We all want simple instructions that are easy to understand. Choose words that everybody knows, and offer analogies that are clear and precise.
2. Use action verbs - Passive verbs like is, are, was, and were simply exist. Active verbs jump, run, explain, and covey information.
3. Learn from the best - Read Mark Twain's brilliant short stories. Study Ben Franklin's short quotes and aphorisms. Lean about headlines and copywriting from researcher John Caples.
4. Compressed messages - In the fast-paced 21st century, readers demand information in short, easy-to-absorb form.
It's been said that the average adult attention span today is a mere eight seconds. Can you deliver the theme of your message in that short time?
5. A word about headlines - Researchers say most of us look at headlines four times more often than we read anything else. Therefore, that headline - or the heading on your paper - should capture the reader's interest immediately.
Bottom line: Learning to write clearly might be the most important skill you'll ever acquire.
Rix Quinn's book "Words That Stick" offers simple ideas for both students and business writers. It's available from your local bookstore, or from http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580085768/qid/
MORE RESOURCES:
 Film School Rejects (blog) | 'Underworld 4' on the Way With 'Shield' Scribe Writing Moviefone According to the Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog, the task of writing the fourth film falls upon John Hlavin, best known as a writer and story editor ... Underworld 4 being scripted by John Hlavin |
Parting Shot: Writing In Alexander for Biletnikoff Award Kansas City Star By Mike dearmond - Posted on 20 November 2009 Danario Alexander is not a finalist for the award given annual to college football's best receiver. ... |
Analysis: Darwin vs. Genesis, a literary smackdown Toronto Star Genesis, it has to be said, is tough to beat as a piece of writing. It contains both the best of the wilderness, emerging over several generations from the ... |
 Film School Rejects (blog) | Mike White Writing New Christmas Comedy Called Santa Wars Fused Film Paramount and Scott Rudin are teaming together for a new Christmas comedy that will feature battling Santas. ... School of Rock's Mike White Writing Holiday Comedy Santa Wars |
 New York Daily News | Martha Stewart pans Rachael Ray's cooking - and cooking writing New York Daily News Stewart told ABC News' Cynthia McFadden that Ray's approach to cooking - and cookbook writing - is "not good enough for me." In her first TV interview since ... |
Late mail on writing The Age He credits his mother for his love of reading and writing. She bore three sons in three years, and as her belly grew so did a line of Russian novels on her ... |
 MTV.com | Lauren Conrad Is Writing A Book On Style MTV.com And when Conrad isn't busy writing books or working on the "LA Candy" movie, she is spending her time designing her clothing line, LC Lauren Conrad, ... Ex-'Hills' star Lauren Conrad is writing a style tips book. Chapter 1: Hire a ... Lauren Conrad is writing a style book Morning Round Up: Lauren Conrad to write a style book PLUS Leighton's latest ... |
Mpls. Teams Needs Help Writing Cinderella Story KSTP.com An inner-city youth football team that helped revitalize a Minneapolis park now needs the help of the community to write the ending to a true Cinderella ... |
Cassidy: Former Silicon Valley CEO settles into the writing life San Jose Mercury News Writing is not Raffel's first career. Way back in the 1990s, he started Upshot, a No surprise then that Ian Michaels, the startup executive protagonist of ... |
 New York Times | Madison Ave. Sees the Writing on the Wall New York Times Jim Wilson/The New York Times The British advertising agency Mother will sponsor an exhibit next month in New York of the work of the ... |
Google News
Writing Press Releases That Get Noticed
Among the various foolproof methods used to boost traffic to your site (ezine advertising, and search engine submitting, to name a couple) one method seems to be forgotten about by many new Internet marketers. That method is writing press releases.
The Importance of Writing Clearly for Business
Creating written documents reveals so much about you and your business skills. Your writing tells the reader about your educational background, pride in your work and business expertise.
Scenes and Structure
Beginning writers often tend to think of a book as a series of chapters. It's actually more useful to regard it as a series of linked scenes.
Authors-Stop Expensive Mistakes Before you Spend on Professional Services
So many clients come to me as a book or marketing coach telling me how they spent and wasted a lot of money and time following different well-known gurus in the book and publicity fields. Debbie's Story A recent client, Debbie, already got her books printed--over 900 left to sell from the 1000 at too much cost.
Story Structure - Final Conflict
Beyond three and four act story structure, lies the Hero's Journey.The Hero's Journey is the most usable story structure consisting of at least 106 stages and the template for successful contemporary stories, from Star Wars to Al Pacino Scarface to The Incredibles to War of the Worlds to The Dirty Dozen to Midnight Cowboy.
Leveraging Your Writing
A frequent conversation I have with my writing clients is how to best utilize their writing to gain more exposure and to create more income. If there is one thing that will accomplish both of these objectives, it's learning how to leverage your writing.
Water to Swim In
Not long ago, I took stock of my unrealized desire to be a published writer, or maybe I should I say â??Writerâ?? with a capital â??W.â?? For some reason it always seemed a lofty goal, to want to see my byline in print.
Essay Types and Modes Youll Need to Write for College
~TYPES~You Want Us to Write What? Understanding the Task AssignedWhich academic essay writing types we use depends upon which disciplines (or classes) we write for. Each instructor or professor will assign papers that invite us to reveal in writing what we have learned/what we think about the material for that particular class:* ANALYTIC-A classic style used in art, science, history, psychology, education, and most other disciplines across the curriculum to explore and investigate an idea, process, person, action, or attitude.
Timer Magic for Writers
If your writing muscle isn't in shape, writing a novel may seem like a sheer, unscalable cliff. ("Gee, I don't think I can write today.
How to Avoid the 11 Biggest Mistakes of First Time Authors
"If you want to change your life," Harry Beckwith wrote in The Invisible Touch, "write a book." But writing a book can also be tremendously frustrating and unrewarding.
What Is The Single Worst Writing Mistake?
The following answer sounds simplistic?but think about it. The single worst writing mistake is "not starting.
Common Writing Mistakes
Most books aren't rejected because the stories are"bad." They're rejected because they're not "ready toread.
Proof Positive: the importance of proofreading
Last week I was having a quick browse on eBay when something caught my eye. "Black patient shoes!" screamed the headline.
Getting To Know Your Characters
Interesting characters that readers care about are the most important 'ingredients' in your novel.That might sound like a fairly sweeping statement, but think about it.
The Writers Identity: Exploring the Writer Within
Les Edgerton writes in his book, Finding Your Voice, that the best way to find your voice is to write autobiographically. "Writers will never find a powerful, evocative voice until they learn to be bone-deep honest with themselves, open and vulnerable.
Pages: Your Book of Life
Many of us dream of writing a book. Why not.
Top Ten Reasons Its Great To Be A Writer
10 - You will always have a job. As long as people want to read, other people like us need to write.
Dont Forget That Manual!
No user manual? Surely you jest!It may seem comical, but it's a surprisingly common situation. I've encountered many companies that don't provide any user manuals with their products.
How To Publish Your Own Newsletter
With the expansion and diversion of businesses, manufacturers, and even hobbyists into more and more specialized areas of endeavor, there is an increasing need for information. And newsletters are the high profit way to cash in on the market for specialized information.
How to Finish Your Self-Published Book Fast
Started a book and then got bogged down? Like many of my bookcoaching clients do you say, "I have so many other demands, I just can't get to the book."This isn't procrastination or fear.
