Better Writing

The Manager Tools podcast has an interesting series on better writing.  This isn't a management-specific topic.  Rather it is something everyone can benefit from.  In a day and age where so much communication is via e-mail, having the ability to communicate your thoughts clearly and quickly is important for everyone.  One of the points the podcasts make is to keep your writing succinct and readable.  Be careful how many 3+ syllable words you use and how long your sentences are.  Put the main points up front.  Save context for an explanation after the main point or just leave it out.  Business e-mails are not a place to increase the drama by building up to the main point.  A professor once told me that in technical papers, you should be able to understand the paper by just reading the first sentence of every paragraph.  This is true of all good technical and business writing.  There are some other good tips in the podcast.  Put it on your Zune/iPod and give it a listen.

Part 1

Part 2