Writing is for Reading!

Let's start out by turning back the clock to two decades ago. The manager calls the secretary in to his office (yes "his" office!). With shorthand skills she takes down the ideas knowing that writing to anyone outside the organisation remains the domain of management only. 

Okay, now let's fast forward. Everyone is writing . . . e-Mail boxes are screaming for attention - with urgent, not so urgent, and plain spam mail drawing off energy. You are expected to reply. And what's more, you are expected to do so in English, whether this is your home language or not. 

So you plough in, often more concerned with time constraints than with concern for your image -or the corporate brand.

Now pause. Put yourself in your readers' shoes. Their in-boxes are equally daunting. They're reading what you've written - not because they want to, but because they have to. So what are you going to do to make it easy for them to read, or to reply to?

This article going to share practical guidelines that will meet both your and your busy readers' needs when writing an a report, or an e-mail,.

1.        The best-kept secret to writing: See what you think!

Separate what you are going to say, from how you say it. Yes, it's that simple. 

Don't start writing until you've jotted down all the ideas you wish to convey. At this stage, there is no need to be concerned about the relevance of a thought, or the order in which you wish to present them. Your energy is invested in ideas, not in words, sentences, or structure. 

By releasing ideas, you will find that you can then clearly see which should be clustered together, and what the best presentation order will be. You can also see which ideas can be pruned as they no longer meet the needs of your ultimate message. Your reader will expect you to present the most important information up front, with the least important tailing off to the end of your writing.

In summary, you need to CREATE, CLUSTER, and COMPOSE – in this order!

• CREATE: Jot down all the ideas you have in mind.
• CLUSTER: Your eye can then see which ideas are related and can be clustered together.
• COMPOSE: Now, with your specific reader (or audience) in mind, structure your various clusters. You have three different ways of ordering your ideas: In order of importance, in logical order, or in chronological order.
• Make a little mind map. That's is where I started! If you don't know how, contact me! I also have affordable software that can help.
• You are now ready to start putting words and sentences to those ideas. And here’s important advice: Write the subject line of an email, or the title of a report, last. This will then be a true reflection of the writing, and will let the reader know what to expect

2.        Apply the Six Principles of Clear Writing

 You owe it to your reader to make sure that your writing is clear, and that the ideas are not buried - or likely to be misinterpreted. Getting this right means staying with six tried and tested principles:

1. Gather all your information before your start writing.
2. Use clear familiar words.
3. Keep most of your sentences short and simple.
4. Prefer the active voice, avoid the passive.
5. Get people into your writing.
6. Use a conversational style.

2.1   Gather all your information before your start writing

When you gather all your information first, it also becomes easier to structure, and to write with more confidence. You know your subject – and you know that you know your subject! So that first stage of just dropping your ideas down – and even mapping them – is essential. 

 2.2   Use clear, familiar words

Remember, you are writing to express, not to impress! Your busy reader will welcome plain English.

 English is a tricky language - many of the big words have more than one meaning. And of course what is familiar to you, may not be familiar to your reader. Example: “Appropriate” can mean “it is just right”, or it can mean “ to take possession of “ Your reader may interpret a different meaning to the one you intended. Small words are more precise. “Subsequently” could mean “next” or “later”. And what does "indicated" mean? Does it mean showed, suggested, or proved? The smaller words are more precise?

 You may be quite familiar with the vocabulary of your discipline. But is your reader equally familiar? 

 When you use clear, familiar words your reader-energy will relate to your ideas, not to your words. Since your readers are also busy, they will value not having to call on a dictionary or thesaurus to get your message - and you will not be misunderstood or misinterpreted. This is good news for second-language writers who don't have to prove a vocabulary point. Their objective is to get a clear message across.

2.3   Keep most sentences short and simple

Long sentences have three pitfalls: They tire the reader; they confuse the reader; and they run the risk of grammatical error. 

Take a look at this sentence that you are now reading and see whether you are able to stay with the drift of what I am trying to say without losing your concentration and finding that you are getting bored or in fact not quite getting the point that I am trying to make despite the fact that I might even have something worthwhile to say but have run several main ideas together in one long sentence without considering your energy or time. (Whew! 83 words!). Unacceptable.

So:

• Make sure that you average 15-20 words per sentence. For technical writing, where you are stuck with big words, strive for 10-15 words per sentence.
• Keep one major idea to a sentence.
• Remove the wasted words. If they don’t add value, they devalue. When I say "incredibly delighted" I have just lost the impact and value of the word "delighted". 

2.4   Prefer the active voice, avoid the passive.

To recognise the Active voice, compare the subject and the verb. If your subject is performing the action of the verb, it is Active. Remember, verbs drive your ideas forward. Here is an example: "Engineers build bridges." - three words and active. But: "Bridges are built by engineers." – five words and passive.  See how this has also added length!

When you use the passive voice, you also tend to drop the performer of the action: "The Proposal was approved." (by whom?). But: "The Auditor approved the proposal." is better, as the performer is identified. Your writing should survive the passage of the organisation.

There are times when you will need to write in the passive voice: Here are two: (a) When you want to draw attention to the receiver of the action rather than the performer; and (b) When the performer is in fact not known; or not important.  

2.5   Get people into your writing

Saying: "Please contact the undersigned." is cold and impersonal. "Please contact me." is better.    "It is hoped that . . ." is also not people-friendly. "We hope . . . " is better.

2.6   Use a conversational style

Cut out the stereotyped way of writing. Compare: "We are in receipt of your mail of 16 May requesting that we transmit a further statement for the month of November" to: "Thank you for your mail of 16 May asking us to send another copy of your November statement."

 Remember, writing is for reading. So, write for your readers. Put your voice on paper. Preserve your personality, as well as the personality of your organisation. Support your organisation's brand – and your own!

 And finally – where possible be positive. Say what you can do, not what you can’t do. If you can’t mail a response today, when will you be able to do so?

Recommendation: Contact me and take up the opportunity of attending Dynamic Writing Skills the two-day development opportunity. It is interactive and fun – and gives you an opportunity for personal direction.

Contact information:

Tertia Borgelt

083 975 5513

NDA TRAINING cc. 

Phone: (011) 787 9943

[email protected]