By: Yadi Caro
“To be successful in writing, use short sentences” - Ernest Hemingway
People tweet (or do we call it X'ed now?), write photo captions and are constantly communicating through the written word, but these messages are often not understood by others.
Here are some key tips to ensure your written communications at work, like emails, chats, and reports, are clear and concise.
#1 Get to the point!
I know, when it comes to emails and chat, exchanging pleasantries is good, but in any written communication at work, it is important to get to the main point soon.
When you are making a request via email, asking a question via chat or presenting a problem via a report, save the background story, and ensure those you are communicating with know what you need quickly.
#2 Avoid lengthy sentences.
As a rule of thumb, keep sentences shorter than a Tweet: instead of 140 characters, keep them at a 100.
Even though there is no magic number, trying to keep words at a minimum will help you refine your ideas.
#3 Be yourself while thinking of your audience.
While emojis are good for friendly chats, think twice before using them on an email, or even worse, a report.
And in the case of an email to the business section of your company, you may not want to use tech jargon.
Written or verbal communication should NOT be an opportunity to show-off your knowledge of terms which may be obscure to others. Your goal is to be understood.
#4 Be cordial.
A “hello” and name before the message is a simple way to be cordial. Avoid using all caps to ‘scream’ at your recipient. Or taking the email as an opportunity to address conflict. Resolving issues or addressing pressing matters, especially with teammates, should NOT be done in writing, no matter if you are on site or remote.
Do you have any other helpful teams?
