Written Communication Skills
5 Quick Tips to Successful Written Communication Skills
Written communication skills are essential, whether you are employed, self employed, unemployed or a student. Your writing skills, or lack thereof, come to the forefront in texting, emailing, resumes, a note to your roommate or spouse, or the next best seller. Start with these tips, and practice every day to acquire impeccable written communication skills.
Tip 1: Write from stream of consciousness--no censorship, then revise until it makes sense. Just because you’ve put words on paper (or screen), does not make them public domain. If it’s lousy, revise as needed. You cannot be misunderstood, critiqued, belittled, or embarrassed, provided you are not too quick to click, to send that message or drop it in the mail.
Tip 2: Become a pro at rewrites—of your own work. Keep reading your work, making it better, like art. You’ve seen a painter in front of an easel, stepping back to view his work, taking it in, feeling the effect. He instinctively knows if it’s his best, as he intended. From there, he ads or removes, embellishes. He steps back again and thinks, “Hum, its better but not finished.” Then he gets a snack, takes a walk, comes back and has another look. And on it goes until the masterpiece is ready to show. The difference between a good writer or artist and a bad one, is one sees abominable work, accepts it as a first attempt, and revises. She knows that the best is yet to flow, from the tip of her pen—if you are under the age of twenty, that is an instrument used with paper to create what is now called a hard copy, albeit without a printer. A bad writer wants perfection the first time out, and looses confidence when it isn’t perfect.
Tip 3: Get a firm grasp on the objective of the piece before you begin. Is it to explain a factual procedure, share your feelings, persuade or sell, describe a situation, tell a story, apologize, amuse or entertain, or something else. That crystal clear objective is your focal point. When lost at sea, you can find the lighthouse.
Tip 4: Shrink it down, without obscuring the meaning. Eliminate like, so, such as, that, is. I had a client who used unnecessary words, thinking they were charming, but they just watered down her message.
Will you please go to the store and purchase several items including a loaf of bread, one carton of milk (a quart), seven candy bars, either Mars Lite or Butterfinger, and use the cash, 20.00, that I left on the dining room table.
Will you please go to Safeway for bread, milk—1 qt., 7 Mars or Butterfingers. A twenty is on the table.
Which is easiest to comprehend?
Tip 5: Don’t write, speak. Think, or say aloud, what you would say to the intended reader(s) if they were in front of you. Then write it as you’ve said it, and revise as needed.
Look in the library or on line for books on written communication skills, by successful authors who not only teach, but perform their craft to good effect. You will find 100s of suggestions for improving written communication skills. And remember, practice, practice, practice.