Sharpen writing skills to climb career ladder

By Anita Bruzzese
Gannett News Service

Nathaniel Hawthorne seemed to be speaking for today's working masses when he said, "Easy reading is damned hard writing."

Dumaine, founder and president of Better Communications Inc. in Lexington, Mass., says that writing well can be a stumper for anyone at any level of an organization, no matter his or her education or experience.

The key, says Dumaine, is following some simple rules when writing anything, and that includes reports, e-mails, letters and proposals.

"Many of those we teach are those in midlevel management for big companies. We tell them that the minute they get one promotion, they must show they can write well or they're not going to go up the next level," she says.

As author of "Write to the Top: Writing for Corporate Success," Dumaine says any writer must:

• Plan. When you sit down to write, decide what you are trying to do, what the reader knows, and what he doesn't know. Always make the action you are requesting clear so that the reader doesn't miss it. If you're sending an e-mail, your subject heading is critical, and should be as specific as possible. Instead of saying, "meeting," write "meeting moved to 5 p.m., not 3 p.m."

• Increase the speed and productivity. For many people, writing can be very laborious, eating up time that must be spent on other tasks. To get yourself started, use the "questioning technique." Dumaine says this is done by writing a series of questions that the reader will have. Once your answer them, you've got the heart of your message. Think: who, what, when, where, why and how.

• Avoid sending wall-to-wall words. In this time of information overload, the last thing anyone wants is a long, boring report to read, or an e-mail that seems to go on forever. Just because you can write a lot does not mean the reader wants to wade through it all.

Dumaine says it is critical to break up your written words with labels, or headlines. For example: "action requested," "suggested next steps" and "deadline" written in capital letters will direct readers easily through a written report.

• Bottoms up. Put your most important information in the beginning. The least important information should be at the bottom.

• Draft and edit. Look over your work to see that you've followed the rules and your message is clear.

Once the writing process is explained, many "are so grateful" to have a way of improving their skills and getting their messages across, Dumaine said.

"In business," she says, "it's important to remember that you are being evaluated every time you write."