To
be successful in a workplace, communication is a critical, but very often ,a
neglected part of a person’s skill set . It is commonly seen that a person
may be highly qualified , efficient and very good at his or her work but fails
to find success or recognition because of either a lack of communication or
faulty communication. Of all the communication skills, writing skills are ,probably
, the most underestimated but the most important . Bad writing of reports may lead to
miscommunication, ambiguous messages or even a wrong message. Writing skills
are fundamental in business.
Significance
of good writing
The
importance of good writing starts from the time you write your resume or CV and
forward it to an employer for consideration. A well written cover letter and
resume will catch the eye of a prospective employer. A CV with a number of
grammatical mistakes, incoherent thoughts and disjointed sentences creates a negative
first impression on the interviewer. Have a look at how this CV must have looked to the reader .
For those in a job, reports are required to be
written frequently, presentations are to be made, even Confidential reports
need some writing. There may be applications for as simple a thing as asking
for leave or more complicated ones like preparing a detailed project report ,
writing a press release or even the minutes of a meeting. A good report will
present all the facts in a manner that is lucid, correct and easy to understand. The reader must be able to understand exactly
what the writer wants to convey. This can be achieved only by a well written
report. Many times, the essence of the report gets distorted by a wrong choice
of words or even by simple grammatical mistakes. A simple omission of an ‘e’
may lead to a result of ‘not approved’ from an intended ‘note approved’! There
is likelihood of misinformation if a report is badly or shoddily written .
Many
of us think that in this age of email and sms texting , writing can be slipshod
and correct spelling does not matter. Furthermore , the nature of business
writing has become casual which is not
actually correct. In fact, garbled, unclear, poorly and hastily written emails
cause loss of time, money and productivity.
Now
that we have learnt how important it is to be good at writing ,the next
question is what is good writing and how
can it be achieved . One of the most
important considerations when writing is the purpose .What is the purpose of
the writing ? Is it to describe an event? Is it to argue a case? Is it to put
up the facts of a case? Once the purpose is known , it becomes easier to have a
well written piece of work . The second point to note is the person, or persons
who will be reading it i.e the audience
. The style of writing will differ with the target group. Putting up a report
to the Chairman and putting one up to your immediate boss will
require different styles of writing .
Another
important attribute of a good writing is that it should be able to hold the
reader’s attention. It should be engaging. The reader should not lose interest
while reading it .Good writing should
have focus. The writer should not meander but stick to the purpose for which
the report or writing is being done. It is easy to get sidetracked or to
stretch a point too much. The writing should be sharp, direct and to the point.
A well written piece should be free of
grammatical mistakes. The vocabulary should be well chosen and slangs should be
avoided at all costs. Experts caution against overly formal and stiff writing
and the use of clichés such as ‘at the end of the day’, ‘last but not
the least’ , ‘In a nutshell’ .
An
effective way of achieving good writing skills is to read. Read good writing
and also read the bad writing. Learn to know the difference and then adopt the
good writing skills. May attention to the grammar and vocabulary .Practice
writing and revise what one has written. Always maintain simplicity of style. Good
writing should have accuracy, clarity, spelling, punctuation, grammar and
conciseness.
