Everything in business requires communication, so it’s incumbent upon every manager to have basic writing skills for workplace communication.
It’s very important for all companies to support their managers in their quest to become adequate writers.
Five ways companies can support better writing
- Role model good writing habits. If you want your company to experience the many benefits of good writing — a reduction in mistakes, greater clarity for expectations and so on — that starts at the top. There are many fine writing coaches who can help you be that role model.
- Share best-practice workplace writing samples. Here’s something I think is really well written. It’s a great example of the quality of workplace writing we are all capable of providing.
- Provide training for your people. You don’t have to put them on an airplane to some distant place. Chances are there are writing coaches nearby who can come in and raise the writing bar in a short period of time without charging an outrageous fee.
- Shine the spotlight on good grammar. There are numerous guides to good grammar. Proper grammar not only helps with writing skills, but also with good verbal habits. Poor grammar lowers the communication bar. Good grammar raises it.
- If it’s important, insist on a written record. When deadlines change, the scope of a project expands or a budget needs to be adjusted and agreed upon, nothing serves you better than having a written record confirming that. Absent that, misunderstandings will abound.
Experience the benefits of better writing in your workplace
There are many ways your workplace will reap the rewards of good writing, including:
- Better writing will help create, build and sustain important relationships in your workplace and also with customers, vendors, community neighbors and a host of other important stakeholders. When relationships are strengthened through good writing, it reinforces bonds of trust.
- Better writing will reduce mistakes. When writing is clear, there is less of a chance it will be misinterpreted by the person reading it.
- Better writing will increase productivity. Direct, concise writing makes it easier for others to act on information and get things done in an efficient manner.
Clearly, better writing leads to a better functioning work environment. When an organization’s operations function smoothly, its chances of success increase exponentially.
Davis Young and Scott Juba own Fast Is Good® LLC which offers communication training in 90 minutes or less.
Davis has provided communication training for some of the best known organizations in the country and, in recent years, has taught more than 200 college classes focused on communication.
Scott is an experienced communication trainer. He is a recognized thought leader and consultant on social media and the use of technology to communicate.
Material for this column is based on their book — Avoid Workplace Communication Screw-ups: They’ll Cost Money and Get You Fired! — published by Smart Business.
