Sunday, July 20, 2014

Tips for Better Business Writing

By: Christina M. Deck

The final stage of the writing process involves revising, proofreading and evaluating.  It is the most important phase of writing.  Revising means improving the content and sentence structure of your message.  Proofreading revolves around correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation, format and mechanics.  Evaluating is the process of analyzing whether your message achieved its purpose.

I spend a vast majority of my time revising and proofreading my work over and over again.  I understand it has to read professionally to the audience I address.  For example, I wrote a 50 page prospectus for Midwest Medical Transport Company.  It was a lengthy process, as I kept going back to re-read everything I had written.  Did it make sense to my audience? Did it flow? Did I spell everything correctly? I am the type of person who does not rely solely on spell checker, as a good writer I have to be able to analyze my writing and check for correct spelling and grammar.  This piece I was writing was ultimately going to be presented as a proposal for a bid within the region.  Not only did I have to think about the business managers at MMTC, but the potential city manager or hospital administrator who would be reading my work.  It deserved careful revision and proofreading on my part to ensure it would be professional and appropriate. Lastly, it had solidify the bid for them.  

Although the writing  process differs for individuals and situations, this final stage of the process should occupy a significant share of your time.  Rarely, even for me or any other professional writer, is a first draft or second draft satisfactory or perfect.  When you are sending a message with significance, write the first draft, set the document aside, take a break then return to it.  I sometimes find if I have a clear head then I am able to do a better job of assessing my work.

You want to express, but impress as well.  One way to achieve your goal of clear writing is to eliminate the so called fog and use the active voice in your business writing, be direct and do not use pompous language.  With the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the verb.  


Using Active Versus Passive Voice

Resource: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/01/

In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.
The sentence, the dog bit the boy, includes a subject (the dog) who performs the action expressed in the verb (biting the boy).
The arrow points from the subject performing the action (the dog) to the individual being acted upon (the boy). This is an example of a sentence using the active voice.
The active voice sentence, scientists have conducted experiments to test the hypothesis, includes the scientists (the sentence subject) performing the action.
Sample active voice sentence with the subject performing the action described by the verb.
The subject of the sentence is performing the action described by the verb in this active voice sentence, watching a framed, mobile world through a car's windshield reminds me of watching a movie or TV.
The active voice sentence subject (watching a framed, mobile world) performs the action of reminding the speaker of something.
Each example above includes a sentence subject performing the action expressed by the verb.

Avoid language people do not understand, for example, slang or the latest buzzwords.   

Executives today will not read wordy emails or letters.  It is a waste of their time.  It is better to write a piece with value which articulates your point concisely and clearly.  Messages without redundancies are easier to comprehend.  

Removing Fillers
Avoid fillers to fatten sentences with excess words.  Beginning an idea with "there is" usually indicates writers are spinning their wheels until they decide how to properly begin the sentence.
Which sounds better to you?
- There are three vice presidents who report directly to the president
- Three vice presidents report directly to the president

Eliminate Redundancies
Expressions which repeat meaning or include unnecessary words are redundant.  For example, if you were to state the following, I received an unexpected surprised.  You are basically saying the same thing "SURPRISE, SURPRISE." The words have the same meaning.  

Excessive adjectives, adverbs and phrases often create redundancies and wordiness.
Reduce Compound Prepositions
What sounds better?
-as to whether
- whether
- at a later date
- later
- at this point in time
- now

Avoid Saying the Obvious
When it arrived, I cashed your check immediately versus I cashed your check immediately

Kick the Noun Habit
I have seen student writers addicted to nouns and transform verbs into nouns.  This little habit reinforces long sentence length, drains verb strength, slows down the reader and muddies the thought process at times.

Which sounds better?
-Conduct a discussion of
-Discussion

- Create a reduction in
- Reduce

-Engage in the preparation of
- Prepare

Dump Trite Business Phrases in the 21st Century
Yes, you want and need to sound professional, but let's not repeat the same stale expressions which writers have used for years.  Make your writing sound FRESH! Make it sound VIGOROUS AND ALIVE!  Eliminate certain phrases and create an original way to convey your thoughts.  I told many of my business communications students how smart and talented they were.  They simply needed to take the time to write a piece and not rush it.  

Which sounds better to you?
- As per your request
- As you request

-Pursuant to your request
- At your request

- In accordance with your wishes
- As you wish

Develop Parallelism in your Writing
How do you achieve parallelism in your writing? Match nouns with nouns, verbs with verbs, phrases with phrases and clauses with clauses.  

For example, I write clearly, concisely and correctly is parallel.  Why do you ask? All the adverbs which modify the verb "write" end in "ly." If you stated the sentence as I write concisely, clearly and with correctness.  It would seem off as the last item is not parallel to other adverbs. 

Writing is a learning process.  Be patient with it and know you are not alone in attempting to create better sentences, phrases and correspondence.  It takes time and practice.  It has taken me over 12 years to learn how to become a better writer.  I am truly thank for my experience at UNL where I learned a lot from Jeff Griesch and Shamus McKnight.  They were both incredible mentors to me and I am always thankful for the opportunity I had to work as a graduate assistant with them.  They taught me more about writing than in a classroom setting.  

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

~ C Emery Scott and the busy bees

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Listen and Listen Well

By: Christina M. Deck

In the workplace, we spend more time listening than any other skill.  Think about it: When compared to talking, writing or reading,  you are most often listening.  Many of us have taken courses to improve our writing, speaking or even reading.  Now it is time for a short lesson in listening, probably the single most improvable workplace communication skill.


So what is the difference between hearing and listening? Hearing is a recognition of sounds, including words around you.  For example, when you walk around a busy office, you hear a lot of words from various conversations.  You catch words, phrases, sentences here and there.  When you actually focus in on the words in a particular conversation and begin to interpret, evaluate meaning and establish the words in a context, then BOOM...you are listening.  Hearing is one of those things done between the ears.  I often find myself repeating things to my father at work over and over again. He is hearing me, but not actually listening to me or the value of my words.  Then he will say I didn't know that was happening or why am I doing this today and I will say I told you that a week ago or three days ago.  When you listen, you remember conversations, dates, times, important things.

Are you LISTENING?
It is said most of us only listen 25 percent of the time.  The other 75 percent is just hearing or listening poorly.  Therefore, we all have tremendous room for growth in the listening department. In order to do my job well, I have to listen to my clients' wants and needs.  I specifically take the time to sit down and speak with them face to face and write everything down.  Yesterday, I had a conference call with a potential client and I went into an office, closed the door, unplugged the office phone and answered my cell phone.  I told my Deck Family Practice staff I was taking an important call.  I had to listen to this potential client and take the time to really listen to what they wanted.  It is so important to take the time to write down what they say as well and take notes.  I also am very meticulous about my note taking as well.  With no interruptions, I was able to listen and have a successful conference call and potentially form a partnership with another growing business.  In positive terms, even increasing your listening ability by 10 percent or 15 percent will give you a significant boost to your workplace performance.  

So what are the benefits of listening well and why is this so important? I mean doesn't everyone listen? No, not necessarily.  If you want to be an effective leader in the workplace,  you must listen well, as it beneficial to your personal and professional growth. 

First of all, you get your work done right the FIRST TIME.  A percentage of work is usually redone because employees miss key steps when a procedure is explained.  Listening well to instructions and following through on them properly provides you with a solid base for demonstrating explementary work to your superiors.

Secondly, you learn more.  Employees increase their value in a workplace setting by listening to others.  They understand their products, services, customers and they are able to answer questions appropriately and professionally if they are challenged.  Effective listeners also get the "big picture" more quickly in an organization because they have taken the time to review the materials and resources given to them, including speaking to co-workers, managers and supervisors.

Thirdly, if you listen, your words have more value.  You have earned the right to be listened to by others if you demonstrate you listen and care about others.  

And lastly, an effective listener is always better in an office conflict situation.  They are more likely to examine each viewpoint carefully after they have listened to each side of the story in a problem solving session.  They earn more respect by offering a few minutes to a co-worker by allowing them to speak and be heard.  This relieves stress and tension in an office setting.  It contributes to office harmony.

Although it appears to be a passive skill, listening is hard work and you must actively engage in it.  

Friday, July 18, 2014

Business Writing Is....

By: Christina M. Deck

Think carefully about the last email you wrote a friend. Did you use proper grammar or capitalization? Did you use periods, commas, semi colons, question marks? Did you allow those bad habits from texting to creep into your professional writing correspondence?

Studies have shown poor writing skills can be a deal breaker at work during a job search.  Remember that little email is more important than you think.  I received an email last week and it read, " I appreciate you meetin with me about the job situacion and the curent opening."

I thought is this what schools are teaching our young people? Really? What happened to the generation below me? I did not think I was that old and did not realize young people were not taking things as seriously as I was when I was 22. 

Human resource managers are taking note of your good writing skills more than ever.  If you think you are being evaluated based on your resume and cover letter only, you better think back to the very first email you sent a potential manager.
Business Writing Is...

- Purposeful. It solves problems and conveys information.
You will have a definite purpose to fulfill in each message


- Economical. It is concise.
You will present ideas clearly and concisely.  Length is not rewarded.
- Reader oriented. It focuses on the receiver, not the sender.
You will concentrate on looking at a problem from the reader's perspective instead of seeing it from your own.


The writing process involves researching, organizing and composing.  First, before writing, a business person must collect through research all of the needed information.  The gathered information helps the writer shape the message to the receiver's need for knowledge or action.

No smart business savvy person would begin writing a message without collecting all the needed information.  Research is necessary before you begin the writing process, as information collection shapes the message.

Also, organize your thoughts cohesively before you start clicking away on the keyboard.  Do not rely solely on spell checker, have another person edit your work.  Do not use BUZZ WORDS.  I strongly encourage intelligent writing.  Read good novels and literary works. This does not mean reading the latest smut by US Weekly. 

Last but not least! PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Write as much as you can and if you still have trouble, pick up the phone and call me. 

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Life Achievements, Triumph and Glory

By: Christina M. Deck

I had the honor and opportunity to write a prospectus for Midwest Medical Transport Company.   It is with great appreciation to the owners, Kim and Jill Wolfe for allowing me to assist their great company.  I truly admire their story and background.  

They started their company out of an apartment.then moved to a garage.  They ran their operations out of their garage from 1992-2000.  I was very inspired by their determination and hard work. 

Curt always jokes  with me saying, you are starting your company from our dining room table on your laptop.  He says it will be a great story to tell someday to another client.  I have been offered an office space with some other ladies from the Launch Ladies Lincoln group and I agreed I would take it.  I am excited about the opportunity to meet other women in Lincoln with the same entrepreneur spirit as me.  

It was such a huge project for me.  I am feeling so triumphant with my achievement of finishing the 50 page prospectus. Yes! 50 pages after I finished it tonight...I posted it was 20 pages on Facebook, but after adding photos and captions it totaled 49 pages.

I am so very thankful and grateful to Sean DeLancey for this opportunity.  I am looking forward to adding this prospectus to my ever growing binder.  I am feeling like Leslie Knope if you get the Parks and Rec inference.  I want to keep knocking these projects out of the park and giving it my all.  I get up early, I work late.  Sometimes, it is hard when the alarm goes off at 5 a.m. beckoning me out of bed onto our hard wood floor, but to me in the end it is so worth it, as I want to provide my family with an awesome life and share my passion for writing with the world.

I am beyond overjoyed at this moment as I was chosen to write this prospectus.  There have been times in the last eight weeks I have doubted myself and my abilities, but my amazing spouse keeps pushing me forward each day reminding me that I can't give up and this is what I love.  He asked me the other day when I knew I loved writing and when I found my passion.  I told him the story of being in the fourth grade and making my own lunch each morning in our kitchen on Whitestone Drive.  I would sit down and eat breakfast and turn on CNN news.  I always watched this news woman named Bobbi and at the time, I thought I want to be like her.  I want to share the news, share my stories and write.  I thought Bobbi was amazing because she was a woman on TV sharing the news with the WORLD (haha) I would write short stories, poems, narratives.  I dove into books with nose stuck in them for hours.  I read all the classics.  While other fourth graders were checking out popular fiction, I was reading the biography of Benjamin Franklin.  I was so passionate about learning about the world around me and sharing it.  I wanted to compose beautiful stories to share with everyone.  I knew when I was 8 I wanted to be a writer.  My husband then said jerk! haha! He was joking, but I always felt an urge to write. 

I am also so grateful to our new and current clients, as they have chosen us to assist them with their current and future WRITING needs.  A huge thank you!

I have never been so grateful to those around me for believing in me and my talent.  I hope I will continue to work vigorously to achieve my goals and endure under deadlines.  

Goodnight, calling it a day after 15 hours of marathon writing and proofing....

~ C Emery Scott and the busy bees

Monday, July 7, 2014

Busy Bees

By: Christina M. Deck

My son told me this morning we are busy bees.  It is so true as I find myself dropping Scotty off at camp then quickly sprinting to the medical office and a doctor's appointment later followed by a baseball game at 8 p.m. which will go past our usual bedtime routine.  

How did we get so busy? It is sometimes a blessing and curse to be so busy. A blessing in the fact I am so happy we have so many projects in line and we are blessed to have trust instilled in us by our clients to accomplish their goals and meet deadlines.  

It is sometimes a curse because you feel like you have a ticking clock and there is never enough time in the day to accomplish what you need to get done. I was working yesterday all day and quickly realized it was 5 p.m.  I thought where has the day gone.   

Well for all you working mothers who juggle multiple duties, it is not an easy task at times.  I have various neon post it's all over the dining room table with my never ending tasks to complete.    

So at the end of the day when I tuck myself into bed, I am thankful for my beautiful son and the jobs I have.  My life may be busy, but I wouldn't want it any other way.  I have worked so hard the last six years to get to a point where I could make my dream a reality.  

Happy Monday ~
C Emery Scott and the busy bees