Business documents need to look great too!

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Business documents are part of your branding and style. Look after them and give them some time.

Creative design in business documents is much overlooked and it does impact on your business profile and professional branding. You can have the greatest content, but if it is not easy to read, it will be a waste.

You have the resources at your fingertips – all you need is a little extra time to make that document shine. It makes that much difference.

Modern technology has given us the resources to develop great design in our documents.  This means you have to lift your game and make your reader’s experience easy with no interruptions or distractions. The key is consistency.

Here is a quick checklist for great business documents.

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Modern business writing is powerful and can be creative

Business writing is not the same as conversation.

‘How did you find your steak?’

‘I moved all that lettuce and there it was. What! You asked how I found my steak. Well, say what
you mean.’

We get away with a lot in conversational language as environmental context, body language and eye contact are there to support our intended meaning.

However, in written communication and business writing, there are only the words, tone and the context created in that document.

I very much like a term I heard recently, ‘the living language’. Whilst there are different interpretations of the term, I feel it describes the development of language.  Language
is alive, changing all the time, and yes, it can be challenging at times.

Social media is changing the language and grammar of young minds and who knows where it will end. N. James (2007) says about language development that one generation’s ‘barbarism becomes the next generation’s common usage’. Mmmm.

The move away from history’s very formal, stifling and overdressed language (which perhaps still is used to bewilder and maybe bully readers) to the concise writing of plain English, where we say what we mean (persuasive though it maybe) can be confronting to some of us.

There is a relationship in business communication between shorter words, clear sentences, document presentation and an improved response and efficiency. Why? Because the message is clear and people understand. It makes sense.

Creative design in business writing

Creative design is now available to us in the preparation of our everyday documents and it does impact on our communication strategies in business. Good design is very influential in written messages and a wise writer uses it to full advantage.

  • Typefaces, spacing, white space, layout, headings, formatting, bulleted lists, hyperlinks, graphics and images are all part of document design and we have them at our fingertips.
  •  Then there is the choice of words, grammar and punctuation. Have you seen the words ‘advance planning’ in promotional documentation?  What planning is retrospective? What is ‘alternative choice’? Is not choice about an alternative? Overdressing words is a false economy and merely adds to the heaviness of the document’s tone by introducing clutter.
  •  Some writers use clutter to impress readers. Clutter relates to unnecessary detail or unnecessary words in your document and serves to hide or diffuse the impact of a message. Instead of saying ‘the purpose of this report is to outline’, try ‘this report outlines’.  ‘John is responsible for managing the department’ reads better as ‘John manages the department’.
  • A useful tip to separate contributing words from clutter words is to get that red pen and read your document quickly; intuitively underline words you think are important or central to your argument. This should give you an outline on which to develop up an improved paper with no clutter.

Promote integrity and trust in your business communications. Say what you mean but be respectful. People read between the lines and honest communication rings very true.

Personally, I like punctuation. It is so powerful. How would you punctuate this unassuming and lame sentence?

‘A woman without her man is nothing.’

  1. ‘A woman, without her man, is nothing.’
  2. ‘A woman: without her, man is nothing.‘

I like the 2nd one personally. The unassuming sentence is now powerful.

But then I have motive, agenda and am being a little bit of a bully.

To be published www.flyingsolo.com.au February 2012.

business writing

Great business writing is a feather away

 Modern business writing is so powerful.

Copyediting and proofreading

Your document needs copyediting if it looks like this.

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
G. Rawlinson Cambridge University 2003

This is why you need The Writing Shed.

Proofreading

Proofreading is the final check before a document is ready for publication or submission to your University. You should provide your copyedited copy so a comparison can be made to ensure all suggestions have been included in your final copy. Proofreading will check for typographical errors, spelling, punctuation,  formatting and layout. References and electronic links can be spot-checked if requested. Proofreading is a quality control exercise to ensure all changes in your copyedited edition are included in your final document. Proofreading is not copyediting.

Copyediting

Copyediting will check for grammar and wording, paragraph and sentence structure, relevance to subject matter, and that your written meaning is clear. Copyediting ensures that there is a consistent approach to terminology, spelling, capitalisation and the document is visually consistent. Spot-checks on the accuracy of the cross referencing and links within the document are done and reference lists and bibliographic references are checked for completeness and consistency.

Substantive or Structural editing (please note this service is not available to students)

Substantive editing involves a wide range of tasks.  Documents are checked for conceptual integrity, language, style editing, clarity of presentation and usability.

Copyediting

Copyediting is detailing

Copyediting and proofreading are essential steps in the production of a quality document.

Rose Osborne is currently on extended leave. Apologises for any inconvenience

 

 

Resumes, Content Writing, Business Books

  • Are you looking for a scribe to write your resume and cover letter?
  • Are you looking for any content writing?
  • Are you looking for a scribe to write your business book?
  • Do you want authority and credibility beyond your networking?

The Writing Shed can:

  • write your resume and cover letter so you get the interview for that dream job
  • write your blog posts that promote your subject matter and your organic web traffic
  • craft professional articles that can be published in your name
  • interpret complex health information into easy to read articles that engage with your community audience
  • create web copy that boosts your organic web traffic
  • conference abstracts and presentations
  • edit anything you write to ensure it shines and is grammatically correct.

This is what our valued clients say about us:

  • An excellent resume and cover letter. Thoroughly recommend. A. Stockley. 2020
  • The draft resume and cover letter look great. No changes, perfect as is.  L. Donnelly 2020
  • Received the resume and so quickly. Nice work and thank you. D. Andrews 2020
  • Fabulous service and at such short notice. Great resume. R. Beckford. 2019
  • I asked Rose to redo a Cover Letter that had been done professionally elsewhere  Her work involved a 2-hour interview where details of my career were unpacked, and the resulting document was comprehensive and targetted. I would thoroughly recommend. R. Cook. 2019
  • Thanks, Rose. You make me sound awesome. I can fire off applications tonight. Thanks So much. T. Herbert. 2019
  • Rose is very good at resumes. I couldn’t have done it myself. Thoroughly recommend. Too easy.  D. Smith 2019.
  • An excellent resume, so quick and so thorough. I couldn’t believe it could look so good. S. Pryce. Sydney. 2018.
  • Wow, I didn’t think I was that great. An excellent resume and I thoroughly recommend Rose for her quick and efficient work.  H Finkers. Sydney. 2018
  • Yeah!!!!!  My abstract was accepted by AHA and I’m a speaker at their World Conference in September.  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP. Jan Sky, BEHAVIOUR CHANGE SPECIALIST http://www.execstateid.com.au/  2014
  • Sometimes a copy editor seems like a luxury, but I’ve used Rosemary twice now and each time it has not only been a fast and professional service, but I’ve also learnt so much that raises the quality of all my work.  J. Canty-Waldon. Consultant in Strategic Leadership e:  www.jcw.com.au  2014
  • I would just like to thank you so much for your work in my promotion application. I am really impressed by the enhanced quality after your editing in the document, especially when the work needs to be done in the last minute. I was worried that I might not have enough time to submit a quality application, but your prompt and perfect service had made this a reality. From your service, I feel I have also learnt and developed my writing skills. I am relaxed now because I know where to go in the future when I have more work to be edited. J Yao. Finance Discipline | Business School. The University of Sydney 2013
  • The Writing Shed is a very useful tool for me as a professional historian. It’s great to have someone who can provide suggestions for changes to the tone and style of my work, as well as accurate grammatical corrections. The very quick turn around times is a bonus in my busy working life. Jodi Frawley  PhD Environmental Historian  The University of Sydney. 2013
  •  Thank you for doing such a great job with my manuscript, Rosemary. You were very efficient, objective and helped me clear up a lot of things. Thank you for your patience with my manuscripts dry topic and for helping to make it sound more interesting. Thank you     Esta Lessing. Business Analysis Excellence Pty Ltd.  2013

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