Tips to Improve Your Writing Skills

The Write Stuff

by Diane Domeyer, executive director of Office Team

Research shows that half of hiring managers take a certain qualification into account when making hiring and promotion decisions. What is it? Experience? Technical aptitude? Business acumen? Actually, the mystery attribute is writing ability. This statistic from a survey conducted by the National Commission on Writing affirms that no matter your field or position, your ability to communicate using the written word plays a major role in career success as an administrative professional.

Don’t fret, though, if your writing skills could use a refresh. The following tips can help you improve:

Know what you want to say. Before sitting down to write, make sure you know what you want to convey. It seems like an obvious step, but many people rush into a document and discover halfway through that they’ve barely touched upon the topic they set out to discuss. Formulate a one-sentence statement that describes the purpose of your piece and jot it down. For example, your goal may be to “suggest a new system for generating monthly reports.” Refer back to this statement as you write, and use it as a way to remain focused on your message.

Keep it simple. A common problem among business documents is that they are difficult to decipher.

To be clear and concise, keep these tips in mind:

Cut unnecessary words and phrases. That means changing statements such as “it would appear that” to “apparently” and “in addition to” to “also.”

Use short sentences and paragraphs. Long blocks of copy can be intimidating and seem inaccessible to readers.
Include bullets, like the ones used here, to call attention to certain details.

Identify your reader. Many documents also suffer from an overflow of jargon and technical speak. When composing a memo, report or presentation, customize it to your audience. If you’re supporting your manager or executive in finance, for example, and you need to write a memo to other administrative professionals in your company, you would want to define accounting and finance terminology in your reports and explain the concepts in simple terms.

Trust your ear. The true test of any written document is how it sounds. So, before distributing your work, read it aloud. Chances are you’ll have an innate ability to recognize words and phrases that sound awkward or forced.

You may think that success in your administrative position depends very little on your ability to write well. Think again. Next time you write, take steps to ensure the documents you produce would make your high school English teacher proud.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Diane Domeyer is executive director of OfficeTeam, the nation’s leading staffing service specializing in the temporary placement of highly skilled administrative and office support professionals. OfficeTeam has more than 300 locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.officeteam.com.