Business Writing For Dummies®
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Table of Contents
Part II: Putting Your Skills to Work for Everyday Business Writing
Part III: Writing Business Documents, Promotional Materials, and Presentations
Part IV: Writing for the Digital Universe
Part V: Thinking Global, Writing Global
Chapter 1: Make Writing Your Not-So-Secret Weapon
Planning and Structuring Every Message
Applying Audience-Plus-Goal Strategy to Any Business Need
Impressing with email, letters, and business documents
Using stories and value propositions
Writing online: from website to blog to tweet
Chapter 2: Planning Your Message: Your Secret Weapon
Adopting the Plan-Draft-Edit Principle
Fine-Tuning Your Plan: Your Goals and Audience
Defining your goal: Know what you want
Defining your audience: Know your reader
Brainstorming the best content for your purpose
Writing to groups and strangers
Connecting instantly with your reader
Focusing on what’s-in-it-for-them
Highlighting benefits, not features
Finding the concrete, limiting the abstract
Choosing Your Written Voice: Tone
Being appropriate to the occasion, relationship and culture
Writing as your authentic self
Using Relationship-Building Techniques
Framing messages with ‘you’ not ‘I’
Chapter 3: Making Your Writing Work: The Basics
Stepping into 21st Century Writing Style
Aiming for a clear, simple style
Applying readability guidelines
Achieving a conversational tone
Relying on everyday words and phrasing
Choosing reader-friendly words
Focusing on the real and concrete
Crafting comparisons to help readers
Using Reader-Friendly Graphic Techniques
Breaking space up with sidebars, boxes and lists
Chapter 4: Self-Editing: Professional Ways to Improve Your Own Work
Changing Hats: Going from Writer to Editor
Distancing yourself from what you write
Reviewing the Big and Small Pictures
Assessing the effectiveness of your language
Avoiding telltale up-down-up inflection
Looking for repeat word endings
Cutting all non-contributing words
Trimming ‘there is’ and ‘there are’
Cutting the haves and have nots
Using the passive deliberately
Sidestepping Jargon, Clichés and Extra Modifiers
Chapter 5: Troubleshooting Your Writing: Fixing Common Problems
Working in lists: Numbers and bulleting
Reviewing and Proofreading: The Final Check
Creating your very own writing improvement guide
Part II: Putting Your Skills to Work for Everyday Business Writing
Chapter 6: Writing Emails That Get Results
Fast-Forwarding Your Agenda In-House and Out-of-House
Writing subject lines that get your message read
Building Messages That Achieve Your Goals
Assessing what matters about your audience
Determining the best content for emails
Structuring Your Middle Ground
Perfecting Your Writing for Email
Going short: Words, sentences, paragraphs
Using graphic techniques to promote clarity
Chapter 7: Creating High Impact Business Correspondence
Targeting a cover letter’s multiple audience
Saving something special for cover letters
Making requests: Informational interviews, references and intros
Introducing Yourself in Letter Form
Part III: Writing Business Documents, Promotional Material and Presentations
Chapter 8: Building the Biggies: Major Business Documents
Giving long documents perspective
Fast-tracking Yourself through Proposals
Writing Tips for All Business Documents
Incorporating persuasive techniques
Chapter 9: Promoting Yourself and Your Organization
Finding the Heart of Your Business Message
Making your case in business terms
Putting your core value message to work
Finding, Shaping, and Using Stories
Using Value Messages and Stories to Promote
Chapter 10: Writing for the Spoken Word
Elevating Your Elevator Speech
Representing your organization and yourself
Preparing and Giving Presentations
Crafting your presentations with writing
Introducing yourself with video
Scripting Yourself for Practical Purposes
Composing talking points for fun and profit
Scripting telephone messages that work
Part IV: Writing for the Digital Universe
Chapter 11: Evolving Your Writing for Online Media
Gaining Perspective on Digital Media
Changing significantly – and yet very little
Strategizing Your Digital Media Program
Thinking through your online goals
Attracting the online audiences you want
Cutting the hype, maxing the evidence
Incorporating interactive strategies
Shaping Your Writing for Digital Media
Keeping it short: Tweets and texting
Chapter 12: Writing for Websites and Blogs
Shaping Your Words for Websites and Blogs
Working on your writing style for websites and blogs
Building a Traditional Website
Incorporating Graphics and Other Elements
Part V: Thinking Global, Writing Global
Chapter 13: Using English as the Global Language of Business
Considering Native English in All Its Flavors
Adapting Your Writing for Global English
Writing Messages to Send ‘Round the World’
Connecting with other cultures
Translating promotional materials
Reviewing your Internet presence
Chapter 14: Adapting Business English to Specific Countries
Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Advance Your Career with Writing
Use Everything You Write to Build Your Professional Image
Write a Great Elevator Speech – and Use It
Write a Long-Range Career Plan for Yourself
Write an Ad for Your Dream Job
Go Out of Your Way to Thank People
Take Notes to Control the Conversation
Use Messages to Stay in Touch and Build Relationships
Write First-Rate Blog Posts, Comments and Tweets
Know How to Explain Your Value
Profile Your Supervisor for a Better Relationship
Chapter 16: Ten Ways to Tweet Strategically
Take Pains with Your Bio and Photo
Listen to Your Target Audiences
Use Twitter for Surveys and Questions
Write Tweets as the Ultimate Self-Edit Test