You wouldn’t change a flat tyre without a wheel brace or take a road trip without a GPS, so why would you write your own business communications without gearing up with the right equipment?
Here are five DIY tools for brilliant business writing:
1. Thesaurus
Roget’s Thesaurusis the benchmark. My everyday favourite, Barbara Kipfer’s Flip Dictionary, is up there, too.
Be inspired by something graphic such as www.visualthesaurus.com or more indepth like the thesaurus section on www.dictionary.com.
If you’re using Microsoft Word, simply right-click on a word to access a list of synonyms or click through to a thesaurus.
Use any of these word-alternative tools to expand your vocabulary, supersede tired words and propel your business writing from ordinary to extra-ordinary.
2. Dictionary
The English language is full of nuance and double definitions. Clarity of meaning is critical.
Dictionaries are a very personal choice. I prefer Oxford or Macquarie (the Australian versions) and there are many specialist dictionary offerings.
Online, I use www.dictionary.com – it delivers simple definitions, detailed etymological (look it up!) information and clear examples, all in a logical hierarchy that lets you access as much or as little as you need. Beware: this is not an Aussie-made site, so be vigilant for non-Australian spellings.
3. Spellchecker
Your audience may be so distracted (even incensed) by spelling errors in your brochure or marketing letter that your message gets no traction at all.
The spellchecker that comes free with your word processor is entirely fallible. Just like you and me. Although it can pick up typo’s and even some grammatical errors, it cannot identify context-sensitive blunders. It compares your words against entries in the spellchecker dictionary, which is not always indepth enough to include plurals and various tenses of words.
More sophisticated add-on spellchecker applications are available; consult some online reviews before making an investment
I generally revert to a hard copy of The Macquarie Spelling Guide which includes over 127,000 entries and is considered a complete Australian checklist. A little hard to come by, but well worth the effort.
4. Red pen
The arch-enemy of the DIY writer is wordiness – the inclination to insert multitudes of adjectives, to repeat the same thought in a secondary phrase, to “show-off” with verbose, over-worked text that doesn’t give the reader room to think or breath.
Try the “slash and burn” approach: take to your text with a ruthless red pen (or a merciless delete button). Consider every phrase and every word against its value to the overall piece, the paragraph, the sentence and the message.
If it’s not adding value (or meaning) then out it goes!
5. Proof reading buddy
Even once you’ve deployed all the above DIY tools, your writing will still benefit from some outside eyes looking in.
Find someone on your team and set-up reciprocal proof reading – you show them yours and they show you theirs. You need to agree on boundaries in terms of turnaround, quality expectations and the level of work to be exchanged.
Choose carefully. They need to be literate, intelligent and prepared to be candid with you. And don’t choose your best buddy – cross-editing is a sure path to ruined friendship.
So, when the DIY bug bites, instead of heading to Bunnings, make a beeline to your bookshop, your browser or your toolbar. Equipped with some quality writing tools, you will be perfectly positioned for brilliance.
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