With the constant pressure of day to day tasks, meetings, discussions, presentations and so forth, for most of us paucity of time is a major handicap in producing the desired quality of written communication. Professional Writing Skills People who are endowed with at least a modicum of professional writing ability are sure to find the challenge of effective professional writing far easier to face in the course of everyday business. Those who have been professionally trained in this area have usually found that the quality of their documents is much improved, while the quantity of time needed to produce them is reduced by as much as a third. Writing Professional Emails Most people tend to regard email as an informal means of communication, which it is in a sense. However, it is often the case that serious business correspondence, negotiations, job applications and many other important transactions are conducted via email and the quality of the correspondence is likely to significantly impact the outcome. For instance, an individual seeking to apply for a job should never just say "see attached" when they want a potential employer to open the attachment. It may so happen that the receiver does not even download or open the attachment. When writing or responding via email communication to potential employers, colleagues, business associates, clients or others, it is important to note the following:-
  • Avoid using emoticons or being too informal.
  • Misspellings and poor grammar can only give a weakened impression as to the applicant / writer’s commitment to quality.
  • Avoid capitalisation and the current trend of phonetic word abbreviation such as ‘u’ instead of ‘you,’ or "ur" for "your" and so on.
Professional Report Writing When it comes to professional communiqués and reports, the highest order of profe
ssionalism and quality awareness is expected. Take special care and follow these tips:-
  • Analyse the situation towards which the communication is directed, including its purpose, context, target audience, and constraints if any.
  • Gather, select, arrange, and interpret data.
  • Document sources according to the established conventions.
  • Plan and execute the report, paying particular attention to the planning phase. Th more planned you are, the more logically organised (and thus readable) the final output will be.
  • Make sure that the ideas are expressed clearly and that there is a logical flow of ideas throughout.
  • Use a persuasive style where needed but not to excess.
  • Revise drafts with respect to the organisation, style, and format based on the objectives of the paper and successful preceding documents.
  • Format your design and graphics effectively.
Structuring your Presentation The quality of your presentations can be improved while at the same time reducing the amount of time actually spent in putting them together. Less is more (as anyone who has sat through several hundred Powerpoint slides in a corporate presentation will tell you!). Stay focused on the key points that will impact the outcome and get your message across in a structured manner. Explain your rationale for any arguments and seek to adopt a persuasive style in doing so, without getting carried away by a need to use jargon in the process. A simple and well worded message can do wonders for your presentation rather than a lot of verbage. Conclusion Communication has always been and always will be crucial to success in many careers or business endeavours. Much of today's communication is handled via email correspondence, augmented by report writing, business presentations and so forth. It is therefore very important to develop the art of writing and presentation, in order to make your mark in the highly competitive business environment of the 21st century.