Writing Skills--Written Communication

Writing skills or written communication is an important part of business communication. Good writing skills allow you to communicate your message with clarity and ease to a greater audience than through face-to- face or telephone conversations.

Writing a report, letters, e- mails, Resume or CV, minutes of the meetings, agenda are some of the ways by which written communication is used at organizational level.

Importance of Written Communication

Written or printed communication is directed to a person or an organization. It should be truthful as they become a permanent record of what you know think or feel at the time of writing. It also reflects the character and communication skills of the writer.

• Wider scope
• Precise messages
• Source of documentation means stored, repeated and reproduced when needed
• Main medium of official communication
• Helps to nurture business relationships

 Principles of effective writing

a)Clarity or Concrete

• In order to make message comprehensible clarity of thought and expression is expected.
• Use simple words and short sentences
• Avoid vague expressions, ambiguous words, jargons
• Use sentences that cannot be misinterpreted.
• Include supporting facts and figures to underscore your message

b)Concise

• Respect your recipients’ time. They should be able to access important information easily.
• Stick to your subject matter
• Focus on facts
• Avoid unnecessary décor (adjectives and adverbs)

c)Correct

• Free from grammatical and spelling mistakes
• Proofread before sending
• Your facts and figures need to be correct.

d)Complete

• Facts and information needs to be complete
• Complete information must include Who, what, where, when

e)Courteous

• You’re more likely to get what you want from your communication if you are courteous, as courtesy builds goodwill. Check that your message is polite, shows respect for the feelings of the receiver and is tactful.
• Tone of written communication affects a reader.
• Tone of the message may be formal, semi-formal or informal

f)Coherence

• Check that each sentence flows logically from one to the next.
• Check that you haven’t tried to cover too many points or been distracted by side issues.
• Your message should also flow logically from one sentence to the next.

 Steps in writing process

There are five steps in writing process—

1. Planning
2. Drafting
3. Revising
4. Formatting
5. Proofreading

1. Planning

• Know the purpose of the message
• Know the audience
• Determine the content of the message
• Gather and collect information
• Organize the message

2.Drafting

• Compose first version concentrating content of the message
• Putting the ideas on paper is the first draft

3. Revising

• Revise first draft twice or more in terms of style, content and correctness
• Follow 7 Cs of communication
• Content should be free from grammatical mistakes and errors

4.Formatting

• Choose appropriate format, lay out
• Neat and visually appealing document is considered as standard formatting.

5 Proofreading

• The message should be proofread for content, typographical errors and formatting.