Archive for the ‘Writing Tips’ Category

Last month I had the pleasure of taking our newest course, Freewriting for Business, on its maiden voyage. I designed the course with this principle to guide me: by the end of the two days, I wanted participants to see different writing could be different if they relax into it, how enjoyable, delightful, even therapeutic. It didn’t have to be the strangled and strangling experience some people fight against.

Attending the course were six of the most open-minded, open-hearted participants a facilitator could hope for, and I watched them blossom as they progressed through short, playful exercises that I think of as the equivalent of scales on an instrument. They built stories collaboratively, tried ‘automatic’ writing, and crafted postcard stories from groups of ten words. We analyzed characters from classic literature to cultivate creative empathy, a skill used by fiction writers that one participant said would help her be ‘more compassionate’ when writing at work. I did put them through their paces—they hand-wrote pages and pages over the two days—but there was laughter, revelation and loosening up. We started to sound like an orchestra getting ready to play.

I was gratified to learn that they did feel differently toward writing by the end of the two days. They were excited about writing again, their composition muscles limber and ready for action. They felt that writing was something they could do, something that they might even enjoy.

Music to my ears.

If you’ve resolved to improve your writing this year, the best place to start might be by strengthening your will power.

That was my resolution this year and even with the baby steps I’ve taken, I’m enjoying all kinds of benefits.

I exercise great willpower in some areas, but when I have to deliver on an important project or meet a deadline (which is almost always) I ignore everything else in my life. I let the clothes accumulate on the chair in my bedroom, papers pile up on my desk, and I ignore household chores that need to be done. I tell myself I’m temporarily tuning out all the little stuff in my life to help me focus on the big stuff. But in the back of my mind I feel anxious when I look at the growing piles and lists I know I have to clean up. And when something unexpected occurs, I get very stressed.

Willpower, it turns out, is a muscle. We fatigue it with overuse, and we use it all sorts of ways every day: to make decisions, to control emotions, thoughts and impulses, and to perform at a high level. Like any muscle, willpower can be strengthened. Who knew?

The secret is to procrastinate less and exercise a low but constant level of self-control. This lets you cope better when something unexpected happens that requires a great deal of willpower. Makes sense, right? It’s easier to reach the peak when you’re already halfway up. And having greater control over your life means you can focus fully on any task without getting anxious about stuff that’s piling up around you, because it isn’t piling up. Productivity experts promise you can have a mind like water. I want that.

I decided to start small—in my bedroom. It’s wasn’t so messy, really, but I made a point of never wasting a trip. Whenever I walk from the bed to the bathroom, I take the hair clips with me and put them in their place. Trips past the chair to the closet? Pick up away any clothes on the way. It only takes a tiny amount of discipline at a time and the payback is huge: my room is a peaceful oasis. Now I’m working on my office—I am training myself to use David Allen’s Getting Things Done technique. While my system is not perfect yet, I now have a clean desk and don’t worry about important things slipping through the cracks. My mind is clear and I’m finding it easier to be fully present.

When it comes to writing, though I never procrastinate. probably because I enjoy it and starting early is a habit. But I know lots of people do procrastinate. Leaving your writing until the last minute makes it a painful experience. As the deadline approaches, your anxiety grows, you don’t have enough time to write well, and you erode your self-confidence. The solution is easy: start early and schedule baby steps along the way. Way less pain and a way better result. Try this method for approaching writing projects, especially the big important ones:

1. Clarify your purpose. What is the end result you want?
2. Quickly jot down what you already know or need to convey.
3. Gather the information you need to fill in any gaps and make an outline.
4. Create a rough first draft.
5. Allow time for the draft to cool.
6. Revise at least twice—once for structure and overall strategy.
7. Revise again for style, grammar, mechanics.

You’ll find the whole experience less daunting. Even better, your writing will be good—you’ll get what you want, you’ll impress your readers and your confidence will grow. So do yourself a favour: resolve to start early, and take small, manageable steps. Work that muscle!

Managers play a huge part in the successful transfer of learning. Recently a manager who cares deeply about helping her staff improve their writing skills asked us for ways she can help. Here are some suggestions:

One minute essay. Ask your staff to write a one minute essay describing the main points learned in the course. Writing helps consolidate key points and clarify what you learned.

Ask for the checklists. We provide job aids designed to help writers assess their own drafts and give structured, pointed feedback to their colleagues. It’s also a great coaching tool for managers. Your staff will be able to explain how to use them.

Ask to see their personal action plans. In every course we give, learners have an opportunity to review what they are learning and compile a list of the strategies they want to use in their personal practice. Ask to see this list. It will be a long list, so have your staff articulate three key learning objectives and watch for their progress.

Reinforce the good. Give praise when it’s deserved. Positive feedback is a great confidence builder and it’s good to remember that we can learn as much from hearing about what we’re doing right as from what we’re doing wrong.

Have them teach you something. The best way to learn something really well is to teach it to someone. Ask your staff to explain two or three of the key lessons they learned.

Share really good work. Show your commitment to positive change by trumpeting successes. If someone on your team writes a great email, share it with the team. People love praise. It will make everyone work harder and will set a benchmark for what you’re looking for. It also shows you are serious about improvement.

Give feedback with sensitivity. We know our writing reveals a lot about us, so when you give feedback do it carefully. Point out the positives first, then the problems. When you give your feedback, remember that if a document needs to be restructured or rewritten, if the content is wrong, there’s no point in correcting grammar and punctuation. That’s wasting everyone’s time.

Model great writing yourself. Make sure you are modeling a plain, warm, professional, style yourself. Avoid cliches, the gratuitous use of big words and a wordy style. Instead, use plain language. Not sure what that entails? Ask your staff. They’ll be able to tell you.

Is it true, as Cecil Rhodes said, that “to be born an English-speaker is to win one of the top prizes in life’s lottery”? Do native English speakers have such a huge advantage over non-native English speakers?

You would think we English speakers are lucky, since English has become the lingua franca of the world with the rise of globalism and the internet. English is the common bond that enables a Spanish UN Peacekeeper to communicate with an Indian soldier when the Spaniard speaks no Punjabi and the Indian no Spanish.

But if you listen carefully, you’ll notice that the Spaniard and the Punjabi speak a certain type of English. It’s a simplified form of English—with a  small vocabulary and a simple grammatical structure. It’s been named Globish by Jean-Paul Nerriére, a retired vice president of IBM, who realized that at multi-national meetings non-native English speakers communicated better with each other than they did with native English speakers because they spoke a common language. Nerriére codified this language and describes it on this video.

According to Nerriére, to participate in global business where international meetings are the norm, native English speakers need to make the effort to speak like everyone else. This means they need to

• Use a limited number of words , and  choose plain, simple words
• Keep sentences short and grammatically simple
• Repeat ideas
• Avoid metaphors and colourful expressions
• Avoid negative questions
• Avoid all humour
• Avoid acronyms
• Avoid idioms
• Use gestures and visual aids to reinforce your message

Being a native English-speaker is certainly an advantage, since English has become the lingua franca of the world. But that doesn’t mean you should flaunt your skills to non-native speakers.

Above all, be mindful of your audience. If you are speaking or writing to someone who speaks English as a non-native, remember you have nothing to gain by demonstrating your dexterity with English. Keep things simple and plain and your message will be heard around the world.

Vacation season is about to begin. Before you take off, make sure you write an out of office message. Your colleagues and clients will be grateful if you make it clear and complete.

Here are suggestions first for writing out of office emails, and then for out of office voice mails.

Out of Office Email

It’s courteous to let people know when you’re away. It’s frustrating to have to wait for a response and it’s so easy to create an out of office message to manage expectations and prevent frustration.

What should your out of office email include? Consider what you’d want to know if you emailed an office and received a similar message.

Depending on your role, a good out of office message might  include some or all of the following information:

• The dates of your absence, and the date of your return. I always appreciate it if the writer spells out the dates (I’ll return August 22 instead of 08/22/11). Be precise–avoid saying you’ll be gone for two weeks or returning next Monday. Instead say you’ll return on August 22.

• The reason for your absence. This isn’t always necessary, but it might be a good idea to let people know if you’re on vacation or on a business trip. If you are at a conference improving yourself by building skills or knowledge, explaining this in your out of office message will only build your reader’s respect. When a client hears of your commitment to improving yourself they’ll be impressed and want to do business with you no matter when you get back.

• Who to contact in your absence. An out of office message might offer contact information for another person who can handle your work in an emergency or in your absence. This gives someone with an urgent request or problem some options. If you work in a large corporation and have quite a few staff members on your team handling different areas, you should include a list of names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers corresponding to the different products/services they handle.

Make sure your message is complete and concise. I always appreciate if I can quickly scan a message to find the information I’m looking for.

Avoid using abbreviations or jargon that general readers might not understand. Did you know that OOO means Out Of Office? No? Chances are pretty good your readers won’t either. If in doubt, spell it out.

Here are some examples

Example 1

I will be out of the office from August 1 until August 22, 2011.

I’ll be checking email _______(once a week, every day, etc.) and will have only limited ability to respond. If you need information about

• advertising, contact John Doe at john.doe@company.com (222 333-4444)
• billing, contact Jane Smith at jane.smith@company.com (222 333-4445)

Example 2

Thank you for your email.

I am out of the office on vacation till Monday, April 22 and unable to receive any email.

Please contact  Francine Melody at 222 333-444 for immediate assistance.

Example 3

Thanks for your note.

I’m away at a Plain Language conference—returning to the office on August 22. I’ll only have occasional access to email.

If you’d like to speak to someone right away, please contact Francine Melody at 222 333-4444.

Example 4

Vacation alert!

I’ll be away from August 1 until August 22. I’ll have no access to email. If you need immediate help, please contact my assistant, Francine Melody. Her contact information:

Phone: 222 333-444

Email: Francine@ brunerbiz.com

Out of Office Voice Mail

Remember to add an out of office message to your personal voice mail. Even more important, remember to update your voice mail when you return. It’s annoying to hear an expired voice mail message. And remember to smile when you record your message. You can hear it.

Example 1

Hello. You have reached Jody Bruner at Bruner Biz.com. I will be out of the office until Monday, August 22nd. Please leave me a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I return. If you’d like immediate assistance, please call my assistant Francine Melody at ext 1234.

Example 2

Hi, you’ve reached Jody Bruner, shipping supervisor. I’m out of the office attending a logistics conference until August 22 and I’ll be checking messages (never, daily, occasionally). If you need information about your shipment, you can track it on our website at brunerbiz.com, or contact Francine Melody at ext 567. Otherwise, leave me a message and I’ll call you when I return.

Example 3

Thank you for calling Bruner Business Communication. You have reached the office of Jody Bruner, Sales and Marketing Manager. I am out of town and will return on Monday, August 22. If this is an emergency, please call my assistant at 222 333-4444. Otherwise, leave a detailed, confidential message after the tone and I will return your call when I return. Thank you.

Example 4

Hi, this is Jody Bruner in Information Technology services. I will be out of the office and returning on Monday, August 22nd. If this is regarding a recent upgrade, please call our Help desk at 1-800-555-1212. They are available Monday thru Friday from 8am until 5pm Eastern Time. Otherwise, please leave a message after the tone and I will return your call promptly.

You  probably figured out by now that I’m going on vacation myself–from August 1 to Aug 22. Yay!

Once you’ve captured your reader’s attention, you want to keep it. Readers will read if you write about them, adopt a warm tone and make your message vivid with detail.

Be Conversational

Don’t be afraid to show your human side. Be warm, be professional, and above all, be yourself. An stiff formal tone distances your reader from you. And when you are marketing, your goal is to build trust and a relationship with your reader.

Formal: In response to our meeting today, the following outlines our understanding of your requirements and our estimates for design and delivery.
Conversational: Thanks for taking the time to meet with me today. We discussed helping your managers become better coaches.

Formal: We trust these estimates will meet with your approval and we look forward to commencing this project in the near future. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at your earliest convenience.

Be Concrete

The best writing is concrete and full of detail. Try to avoid too many adjectives and adverbs. Instead, quantify and give examples. This will bring your writing to life and make it more readable. Show, don’t tell.

Before: Our self-directed training program is effective.
After: In a level 3 evaluation, 100% of participants say they are using their new skills and benefiting from the course. 83% now take the time to plan before placing calls.

Before: Our learners report a high satisfaction rate.
After: 93% of our learners say they are satisfied with our courses 90% of the time.

Know Your Audience
How to Get Your Reader’s Attention Upfront
Make Your Content Reader-Centred
Marketing Tip: How to Establish Your Credibility
Speak of Benefits NOT Features

Readers today are inundated with information and turned off by blatant sales pitches. Still they have problems you might be able to fix. To capture their attention, you need to show you understand and care about their needs and that you can help them solve their problems. Here are two examples of documents written to persuade. The first one is a course outline, a traditional training marketing tool. The opening describes a need readers have and then shows the solution.

Course Outline

How to Turn Customers into Fans

Success depends on having a quality product. And today, more than ever, it depends on quality service. As products become more like each other, the best way to stand out from the crowd is to make your customers feel valued by making sure their interactions with you are always positive and memorable.

This customer service course will teach you to consider your customer’s experience at every point of contact. You gain the skills and confidence you need to provide the kind of service that turns your customers into fans who return over and over.

This example is from a blog. It opens by identifying a need lots of people have—insecurity about grammar—and promises relief—a simple overview of the twelve verb tenses.

Blog Opening Paragraph

Do verbs make you tense? If so, join the club. Lots of people get nervous when they hear terms like ‘present perfect’ or ‘future progressive.’ In case you want to improve your English skills, here’s an overview of the twelve English verb tenses with links to articles about each one.

Another way to open strongly is by borrowing a phase from previously successful marketing copy. Copy writers collect “swipe files”–samples they like. Having a good collection of examples can help jump start you when you need to write something of your own. Here are some examples of openings:

Are you still…?
Will you be ready for the…?
You’ve probably noticed that…
Just a note to tell you about…
What everyone ought to know about…
How to <the benefit>
<#> ways to …
How much is <problem> costing your company?

For more on this topic, read
Know Your Audience
Marketing Tip: Be Conversational and Concrete
Make Your Content Reader-Centred
Marketing Tip: How to Establish Your Credibility
Speak of Benefits NOT Features

Sustain your focus on your customer throughout your writing by trying to express the details of your message from the reader’s point of view. Try to write using the pronoun ‘you’ as much as you can. Don’t avoid ‘I’ or ‘we.’ Just remember to include ‘you’ as much as you can.

Writer-centred: We provide technical support for our clients.
Reader-centred: Your learners will get as much technical support as they need to ensure a smooth and effective transfer of learning

Writer-centred: As we work with clients to design job aids and training, we often discover the best solutions start with improving current work processes.
Reader-centred: As we work with you to design job aids and training, we often discover the best solutions start with streamlining your current work processes.

Try it yourself. Turn these writer-centred sentences into reader-centred ones:

I’ve been providing <service or product> since 1990.
We’ve added 12 new <items> to our online catalogue.
We’ll be able to confirm registration for participants who respond to this email before March 14.

Read other blogs in our series about marketing:
Know Your Audience
How to Get Your Reader’s Attention Upfront
Marketing Tip: Be Conversational and Concrete
Marketing Tip: How to Establish Your Credibility
Speak of Benefits NOT Features

This past November I had fun presenting a writing session at the CSTD conference on the topic of Marketing Your Training. While my audience were corporate trainers, everyone markets something. So I thought you might benefit from getting some fresh marketing ideas. And even if these ideas aren’t new to you, we all need to be reminded. Okay, prodded.

The first thing to remember is that marketing isn’t a dirty word. Marketing yourself or your services is just letting people know explicitly how you can help them be better at what they do. The key thing is to remember that benefits are never obvious, and if you don’t tell people what you can do for them, they’ll never know. And if they don’t know, you don’t help anyone, including yourself.

Why does it matter so much today? Our customers have less to spend and are having to do more with less. We have to work harder to keep our piece of a shrinking pie while competition for that piece of pie is fiercer than ever. Customers are frazzled. On top of all this, technology is changing the rules of the game. Marketers now have less control over information—our customers expect to find answers to all their questions on our websites.

It sounds easy—just be explicit about how you can help your customers. But in reality it’s difficult to do. Most people take the easy way out and express themselves in their own language and speak to benefits that are clear to or affect them. Stretching into your reader’s head and understanding your message or product from their point if view is a small but very difficult stretch. In this series I’m sharing  some of the best ideas I found.

Know Your Audience

This seems obvious but too many people miss this crucial step. And if you make assumptions about your reader, or don’t take the time to think deeply about what their life is like and what makes them tick, you will never be able to reach them. Once you can identify who you are writing to, consider these questions:

What are their frustrations?
What do they need to be successful?
What motivates them to act?
What do they fear?
What objections do you expect them to have?

Don’t know? Ask someone who fits your profile. People love to be asked for advice and will give their time generously.

Read the other blogs on this topic:
How to Get Your Reader’s Attention Upfront
Marketing Tip: Be Conversational and Concrete
Make Your Content Reader-Centred
Marketing Tip: How to Establish Your Credibility
Speak of Benefits NOT Features

It’s easy to fall into the trap of talking about the features of what you’re pitching. But readers respond to benefits. Speaking the language of benefits means you show the reader explicitly how their life will be different with your solution.

Here are two great strategies for making sure you speak the language of benefits.

1.       Has/does/means. This works to force you to express what a feature means to your reader. You can promise they will learn how to understand their customer’s needs, but this will only be meaningful to them if you express the benefit: “You will learn to understand your customers’ needs and gain their trust.” You can promise they’ll learn to ask questions, but this will be more compelling if you explain they’ll learn how to “ask the questions that will unlock hidden opportunities.”

2.       What if you could…This strategy works by letting you paint a word picture for your reader of how life will be after your solution. So instead of “Learn how to handle difficult customers” you’d write “Learn to handle difficult customers with tact and turn them into fans.”

Try turning these features into benefits:

You will learn how to

• listen actively
• practice telephone etiquette
• ask open and closed questions
• say no to customers

Read more about this topic:
Know Your Audience
How to Get Your Reader’s Attention Upfront
Marketing Tip: Be Conversational and Concrete
Make Your Content Reader-Centred
Marketing Tip: How to Establish Your Credibility