Index

Business Writing Made Easy

by

Jane Watson

J Watson Associates Inc.

www.jwatsonassociates.com

for

PRO Aquatics Conference 2010

November 5, 2010

Jane Watson is a trainer, speaker and author in written communications. She conducts workshops for

both the public and private sectors on topics such as emails, letters, proposals, business cases, reports,

minute taking, grammar, customer service, and plain language writing. Her books, The Minute Takers

Handbook and Business Writing Basics, are available in bookstores across North America. She also

produces a weekly, electronic grammar tip subscribed to by over 4,000 people worldwide.

Business Writing Made Easy by Jane Watson 905-820-9909 www.jwatsonassociates.com

Copyright 2010 J Watson Associates Inc. 2

Academic Versus Business Writing

# of readers?

Expertise?

Goal?

How?

Definitions

Business writing involves . . .

Plain language writing involves . . .

Jane Watson Business Writing Made Easy

905-820-9909 www.jwatsonassociates.com


Todays readers are . . .

What does this mean to letters and emails?

Reports?



Myths

Never end a sentence with a preposition.

Never start a sentence with "and," "but," or "because."

Never repeat a word.

Never use more than one page.

Seven Deadly Sins of Writing

Packing a sentence Remember Avoid writing meandering, lengthy sentences.

Sounding unprofessional It is just as wrong to be too formal as it is to be too casual.

Remember Use the same vocabulary as you would use on the

phone to that audience. Avoid clichs.

or

Intimidating the reader Remember Your documents must look easy to read.




Failing to link your sentences Remember Your thoughts must be logical and organized. Use

connecting words.

Confusing the reader Remember Tell your reader what he or she needs to know. Dont

waste their time.

Being a dictator

Remember Todays readers prefer to be

considered team players not servants.

Ignoring spelling and grammar Remember Blatant spelling and grammar errors distract your

reader from the message.



Changing the Tone

Formal Neutral Informal

Words

Long words

Mixed

Short, simple

Contractions

None

Some

Yes

Sentences

Long

Variety

Short

Paragraphs

Long

Mixed

Short

Voice

Passive

Mixed

Active

Personal Pronouns

It

I, me,

we, our

You, your

Be polite. Use the words of courtesy, such as please and thank you. Avoid the word kindly.




Public Letter

TO OUR VALUED CLIENTS, AND CLIENTS OF OTHER FINANCIAL

INSTITUTIONS:

Processing disruptions at RBC this week have caused inconvenience and frustration for our

clients, and for many clients of other financial institutions.

We apologize. And we want to let you know whats happening.

YOUR MONEY IS SAFE.

First, and most importantly: your money is safe. Your records are secure.

YOU WONT BE CHARGED.

Youll not be faced with any overdraft charges or fees because of this disruption. If any charges or fees do appear in your accounts, we promise to refund them. Weve arranged with other banks that their customers will receive a full refund for any reasonable service charges,

fees or overdraft interest costs resulting from our processing delays.

ACCESSING CASH IS EASY.

Next: how do you access cash this weekend? Our banking machines are available 24 hours a

day and will provide both cash from your account and a courtesy overdraft whenever

possible. There will be no charge for this overdraft.

As well, many RBC Royal Bank branches will be specially open today. If your branch is

closed, well post signs advising you where to find the nearest open branch.

You can also call Royal Direct at 1-800-Royal-1-1 (1-800-769-2511) for assistance or visit

www.rbcroyalbank.com

Again, I apologize for the frustration and inconvenience this disruption has caused, and I

thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Gay Mitchell

Executive Vice-President



Guidelines for

Writing by Numbers

1 Number of spaces after a period

2 Average number of sentences between connecting words

2-3 Maximum number of lines in the opening paragraph of an email

3-4 Maximum number of lines in the opening paragraph of a print document

4 Maximum number of pieces of punctuation in an easy-to-read sentence

5 Maximum number of lines in the body paragraph of an email

5 Approximate number of paragraphs between subheads in a report

7 Average number of easy-to-understand points for a list or sections in a report

8 Maximum number of lines in the body paragraph of a print document

Clichs to Avoid

Enclosed please find

Thanking you in advance

As per

If you have any further questions, please dont hesitate/feel free to

At your earliest convenience

Under the abovementioned circumstances

Documents

Index