The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing
September 10th, 2010 | 
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- ISBN13: 9780137153152
- Condition: New
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Product Description
“From everyday letters, e-mails, and reports to Web site content, proposals, and new media, you’ll discover what it takes to make every written word count.” –Jerry Allocca, President, CORE Interactive Business writing that packs a punch: Make the most of your message to get what you want! The truth about supercharging your business writing The truth about writing directly, clearly, and convincingly The truth about writing in … More >>
The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing
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I got this book hoping to get some tips on writing for the Web and self-marketing but I got far more than I was hoping for. When I got this book I found myself reading through the first 6 or 7 chapters (or writing “Truths” as the authors call chapters) without intending to.
It says something when you pick up a book to flip through, and find yourself drawn, page by page, through the first 6 chapters. But it says even more when find yourself using the suggestions literally an hour after reading them. After I was forced to put the book down and go to work, I found myself recalling two very specific rules when writing emails. The first was to “Cut to the chase” and put the bottom line at the top, which is brilliant since it put what people needed to know on line one. It was un-missable.
I was impressed how quickly these “Truths” came back to me. The authors laid out 52 “Truths” in a concise and digestible format. Many are themed on very basic ideas, which unfortunately are often forgotten. For an example in the first 6 chapters there is a focus on setting goals for your writing and keeping your audience in mind. These are pretty basic writing rules, but again, often forgotten. However, the authors go further and tailor “Truths” to day-to-day business writing. Again, I lifted a “Truth” right from the book by wording an email to my boss’ viewpoint, showing how a change we wanted to make helps the whole department. It garnered a compliment and acceptance from our boss, just by keeping the focus on how he sees our workflow.
OK, so an hour of reading and same day application. Can’t beat that. I’m now on to day two and I have started Cherry-picking chapters. I have read the chapters on Web content and I see that I really need to rework a lot of the content on my site. Usually I wait until I finish a book before writing a review for it, but the jury is in for this one. If you do any type of writing for work or pleasure you should get this book. You can read it like a daily devotional and revolutionize your writing just by getting basic guidelines in your head each day. I’m sure this will become a reference for me.
This book has actually gotten me excited about writing. Before starting this review, I read the “Truth” on Jargon and Passive, then rewrote the paragraphs on my home page, and it is night and day. Add to that the “Truth” of less is more and a half dozen other ideas the book gave me and my copy is 100 times better.
Alright, I’ll stop gushing now. But seriously, if you haven’t thought about your writing process in a long time, get this book. It is not a grammar primer, it’s an effective guide to everyday writing.
Rating: 5 / 5
This compact volume offers plenty to differentiate itself from the scores of other similar offerings promising an express ride to clear business writing. Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz take on the complex world of Information Age business writing, and break it down into 52 manageable, readable chunks of theory and practice. They address both modern options (email, blogs and web writing and the ubiquitous challenges of PowerPoint) and “legacy” modes.
You’ve heard much of this before, and they don’t break what I would consider any significant new ground. But their message bears listening to again:
Consider your audience. Re-write. Edit mercilessly. Be direct. Be concise. Have a plan. Their packaging is relatively painless for content that many people may want to run and hide from. While dividing the content into 52 sections may suggest chewing in weekly bites…don’t wait. Their ideas are well organized, illustrated with realistic examples, and can help even the hopelessly verbose and disorganized get a handle on their most important professional communication tasks.
The book invites registration at a companion Financial Times press web site. In return for your personal information, you get access to three .pdf files (guides to style sheet creation, document design references and an online resource guide). Overall, I would have preferred that these simply be included in the book. You’ll also be offered a 35% discount…on the book you already own.
Go to the business writing section of a large brick and mortar store, or browse amazon’s offerings. The choices are dizzying. Choosing this one can help cut through some of that confusion. If you are competing with your peers for scarce fiscal or personnel resources in the workplace, remember this. Among equally qualified, reasonably competent professionals, the edge in the battle for resources often goes to the better communicator. This book can help you gain that edge.
Rating: 5 / 5
The authors practice what they preach in making every word count in this short guide. Chapters are brief and to the point with 52 truths or writing points laid out under 9 main parts. Bulleted items and headers in red or bold guide the eye to important elements in each chapter. I especially liked the before and after examples where the authors showed how to make writing that was okay or inappropriate into writing that was excellent. Everything in this valuable reference work is relevant in today’s fast changing world of business and communication. Some of the topics covered are letters, emails, web content, grants, and reports and proposals. You can’t get what you want if you can’t communicate effectively and this book will go a long way toward showing you what you need to make your case.
Authors Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz communicate their message in an easy to read style with the material so well organized that readers will easily find what they need, whether it’s the right approach for a request to a supervisor or the best way to interview someone.
This is a great reference guide for anyone who works in the business world.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve had my own marketing business since 1996. I write all day, whether it’s emails, proposals, bids, marketing copy, etc. This book has taken the skills I already had and sharpened and refined them.
It is very well organized into 9 basic parts (Chapters) – like ‘The truth about what makes writing work’ and ‘The truth about successful e-mail’. Each section is then detailed into “Truths” like ‘Tone makes-or breaks-your message and ‘Less can be a whole lot more’.
Each “Truth” section is 3-5 pages that make for quick reading. It is easy enough to peruse through a few topics or sit down for a longer read. Since there is so much information with specific detail, I found that after reading through a few truths it was hard to remember all the details. I revisited topics when they were pertinent to what I needed. I especially liked all the suggestions about writing e-mails since this is my biggest method of business communication these days.
It is hard at times to stop and think about changing a writing style you are so familiar with using but when you have the time to spend a few extra minutes, refining your message, the payoff is great and eventually it will become your new style.
Since “less CAN be a whole lot more” I will finish up by saying that this is a great reference tool for any business person. It will pay for itself very quickly in the successes you gain because of the professionalism and clarity of your writing.
Rating: 5 / 5
“Yeah, sure,” I thought as I picked up this book. “New Rules” would undoubtedly focus on email, blogs, texting, and other new media forms of communications. The authors would expect that their readers are barely able to turn off their Caps Lock or remember not to use smiley faces in memos to their company CEO.
But I was surprised. So surprised that instead of skimming through the book, I sat back to read each chapter closely. The chapters are more than advice as to how to properly construct an email. They include approaches that enable readers to gradually move up through the corporate ranks. How can we convince, inspire, and energize the recipients of our written word? The chapters assist from this political perspective while educating readers about approaches to literacy that work well within today’s fast paced society.
Naturally the obvious rules of thumb are incorporated: don’t rely on spellcheck, don’t click ‘send’ without proofreading, don’t be critical. But these rules are built in to a chapter-by-chapter process designed to help the reader not only communicate thoughts but achieve goals as well. The result is a straight-forward and well-written (as one would hope for in a text about business writing) text presented in bite-size chunks. Well worth a few hours of close attention; you’ll also want to keep this on your shelf for quick reference.
Rating: 5 / 5