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BUSINESS COMMUNICATION – SIX STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL CORRESPONDENCE
Written communication is at the core of our business activity. Therefore, in the first article on high-quality business communication in written form, we will present basic guidelines that will help you improve your business writing style. Our style of writing, just as our style of communication, or even our fashion style, greatly influences the impression we leave about ourselves, our work, and our organization.
Plain and Simple
Messages in business communication should be clear, simple, and brief because we want readers to understand them easily and quickly. However, simplicity does not imply poor expression, and it is always recommended to use specialized terminology.
We use messages for the purpose of communicating information that is useful to us as senders. It is equally important for our messages to be useful to recipients, as well. This is most easily accomplished by thinking about who we are writing to and what this person would find interesting or useful to know about us and what we do. It is important that we remain objective and stick to verified facts.
Clear Layout
To be certain that our messages are easily read and noticeable, it is important to maintain a clear layout of the text we are writing. You can achieve this by dividing the text into shorter visual units that have the same topic, just like sections of an article.
Logical
Consider the logical sequence of presenting facts and information so that the recipient does not have to spend too much time trying to understand the sender’s intended message and can act immediately.
Introduction, body, and conclusion are the fundamental units of every type of communication. The conclusion can encompass an inference or a call for action.
Effective
In written communication, we have the luxury of being able to plan, review, and make corrections, which cannot be done, for example, while we are in a business meeting.
This way we can accomplish better results since we have a chance to think about all the information we want to communicate before we even begin to write. After we finish writing, it is always a good idea to review everything at least once before hitting Send.This way we can be certain that the message is clear and logical and that it will produce the desired result.
Grammatically Correct
In order to be certain that our writing style is viewed as professional and competent, we must always take the time to check whether the content of the message is in accordance with language and grammar rules.
Politeness
If we have followed all of the above-mentioned tips on messages in business communication, we can be certain that we have done everything in a professional manner.
This does not mean that one should not try to build a relationship with the recipient by using small gestures, like enquiring after the recipient of the message, expressing hope that certain work assignments are progressing well, or wishing the recipient a great weekend or a successful workweek. As they say, politeness goes far, yet costs nothing, which is why you can never go wrong with using a polite tone.
After presenting some of the basics, in the next post of the series, we will show some of the mistakes that can impact the quality of communication in business correspondence. Rest assured, we will not leave you hanging! You can expect some tips on how to deal with this, as well!
If you’d like our business communication language specialists to check your text and translate it to a foreign language, send a simple enquiry to info@verba.hr or fill out our contact form. VERBA has been helping companies and citizens to successfully communicate on the global market for over 20 years.