Excellence in Business Communication, 13th Edition
Chapter 6. Writing Business Messages
"As with everything else we do today, technology has come up with a way to make our writing lives easier.
"Business writing used to be simply about communicating — getting information across to others," writes Michael Theriault.
Susan Adams presents the 8 keys at Forbes.
"Copying someone on an email can be helpful or work against you.
"These days, unpacking the secrets to viral success has been the mission of researchers, media organizations and businesses alike.
"People don’t have the time or the attention span to read any more words than necessary.
Helen Coster (photo, left) presents "10 Tips for Better Business Writing.
"A great piece of writing is like a great piece of art.
"The purpose of sound bites is simple — help people remember what you said and why you said it.
"Amazon says it has boosted efficiency - and given workers' legs a break - by deploying more than 15,000 wheeled robots to crisscross the floors of its biggest warehouses and deliver stacks of products to employees.
"Video marketing is exploding in popularity, and with good reason: According to a report from Vidyard, more than 70% of marketers say that video produces conversions better than any other type of content.
"Back when I was a journalist," writes Victor Lipman (photo, left), "an old editor of mine had a great saying he used to tell his writers: “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long letter.
"In writing a speech, you have two objectives: Making a good impression and leaving your audience with two or three takeaways.
"There is a lot to like in Mary Norris’s Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen.
"I asked everyone around me, people who’d been working longer than I had, 'Why do we write this way?
"There’s real power in sending a handwritten note to a customer: a card to thank a customer for subscribing, to celebrate with a customer for completing her first project with you, and so forth.
We check in with Ken Makovsky (photo, left), contributor at Forbes.
"Many companies' help lines are usually crowded with customers trying to find an answer for their questions.
"The slideshow not only acknowledges the long-lasting nature of digital information, but also suggests ways that employees can avoid incriminating themselves and GM by not using words like "catastrophic" and "spontaneous combustion" when talking about GM products.
"But what's the best way to build rapport and create trust?
Christina Desmarais of Inc.
"For word nerds everywhere (this author included) the yearly additions to the Associated Press Stylebook are always met with great intrigue.