How to improve your business writing standards
Business writing standards are important if you want to get ahead.
Here are a few tips to ensure you don’t allow careless mistakes to ruin your reputation as an educated professional who pays attention to detail. Business writing standards can be very exacting.
1) Use your computer spell checker – but don’t rely on it! It cannot read words in context. It’s far too risky to rely on it – do your own check. I was emphasising this point in a business writing training program I was conducting for staff at a corporate client. One of the participants brought me this piece which I just had to share with you. It’s very funny and makes the point admirably.
Business writing standards don’t often conform to spell checker either.
Poem Regarding Computer Spell Checkers
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
2) Do several different checks – professional writers run through a document doing several separate checks. One for sense and flow of content. One for grammar, one for spelling, another for punctuation and a final check for consistency of format such as headings and sub headings or a font changing suddenly in the middle of the document. Business writing standards can be fickle.
3) Read the document backwards – to ensure that you pick up every possible error. It’s what professional editors do!
If you would like to improve your business writing skills, contact me directly to arrange a convenient appointment time.
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