If you do just one thing

I thought I'd start the year strong with the best piece of business writing advice I can think of. If you do this one thing – whether you're writing an email, proposal or report, or even a post on LinkedIn – your writing will become so much more effective.

So, what is it? It's to focus on making your key message immediately clear and actionable for whoever your audience is.

Too often, business writing buries the main point it's making under unnecessary context or jargon. And then it fails to tell people what you want them to do with the information you've just sent them.

So, start with what matters most to your readers (because people always pay attention when they see a benefit for themselves) and what you want them to do . This shows respect for their time and makes your communication more effective. It also forces you to think about why you're writing in the first place.

Give it a try; let me know how it goes!

All the best for 2025!

Mandy

PS. This also applies to presentations, which are simply writing that is delivered orally. Get to the point early, and you'll hold people's attention.