Writing is a necessary form of communication and in many cases, the only way to communicate. Whether it is a memo or email to co-workers, blogging on a Web site, providing feedback or selling your idea for a new business, it is all written communication.  Writing can be a very effective skill and can be the difference between getting your desired result and not. But there can be problems with it as well.  

The problem with writing is that there is no way to take it back.  Opinions of you can be formed based solely on your writing skills.  This presents many challenges for the writer.  Your spelling, grammar, style of writing and wording are all criticized. 

There are steps you can take to assist you in making your writing more effective.  One way is to organize writing.  Another way is to watch your writing style.  And lastly, proofread your work before allowing it to be seen.

Organizing

I start any writing project by deciding what I want to accomplish by this piece writing.  Am I trying to persuade someone to my way of thinking?  Am I complaining about a product or service I received?  It is hard to get your point across if you don’t know the point you are trying to make.  Now it’s time to organize your thoughts.

Developing an outline of what you want to say will help you say what you want to say and not go off on tangents and confuse your readers.  All outlines should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Within these three headings, make notes of what you want to say.  Once you have that written down, review it to make sure that the order you are presenting the information is correct. 

Use in the introduction to give your readers an idea of what is to come in the body of the written work.  The body should contain what you want to say.  You can present concrete evidence to supports your ideas but stay away from generalizing.  The conclusion is the bow on the package.  It is your last chance to obtain your goal – to make the point you wish to make.  You want to summarize the document in its entirety. Therefore, if your goal is to receive something, now is the time to ask for it.

Style

Everyone has there own style of writing.  Some style tips you should consider are:

• Avoid slang or jargon.
  
• Avoid abbreviations unless they are previously defined in your writing.
  
• Spell correctly
  
• Numbers should be written out when the number is less than 10 or used to start a sentence.
  
• Use active voice, not passive.
  
• Keep words simple and sentences short; don’t be wordy.
  

These tips do not cover every area. However, they will help you convey a clear message to your readers.

Proofread

The most important thing to remember is to proofread your work.  Use a dictionary to double check your spelling and a thesaurus to find different ways to deliver the same message without repetitively using the same word.  Also look for words that are spelled correctly but used incorrectly.  For me, I tend to type “form” instead of “from”.  Spell checker will not catch this mistake since the word is spelled correctly. The misspelling may have a negative impact on the reader’s perception of you and/or your business. If time allows, put down your document and look at it again the following day.  A fresh set of eyes will help you see things that you may have overlooked the day before. 

I also find it helpful to have someone else, who knows little to nothing about what I am writing, read my document. Once they are done, I solicit their thoughts and reactions.  Many times their feedback is very helpful in identifying areas that need work.

Written communication is a part of our daily life.  The difference is how effective your written communication is. If you want to improve the effectiveness of your writing, there are classes you can take either online or at a local college.