The 7 Mistakes You Make When Writing For Business

Emails, slide presentations, letters and reports: in a single workday we are surrounded with important situations where word choice, phrasing and punctuation matters. Prospects decide whether your organization can be attentive to their needs because of your (hopefully!) error-free emails. Senior leaders give support to your projects based upon the clarity and structure of your executive overviews. How well you write matters to your ability to influence and project a professional image. Here are 7 writing mistakes you don’t want to make:

1. Being too wordy (which encourages the reader to only skim your writing).
2. Forgetting to include a call-to-action statement when making a request (which reduces reader compliance).
3. Using repetitive, unvaried language (thereby creating boredom).
4. Misusing or ignoring the importance of a subject or reference line (missing the most effective way to get your message across).
5. Delivering all the background information first (ensuring your reader misses the point).
6. Neglecting to proofread (raising doubts about your credibility and care).
7. Writing when you should be talking (losing the chance to capitalize on the power of interaction).

Use this checklist as an editing tool for your own writing and as a way to provide feedback to others. While it may not be realistic to edit every piece of writing with this level of rigor, some people improve their writing by focusing on one area for improvement each week—until avoiding that stumbling block to effective writing becomes second nature.