For many people, the work of editors is a mystery. What do editors do and what do people think of them?
Here are a few quotations about editors that might answer some of these questions. You probably will recognise some of the well-known writers who have offered their opinions on editors—some positive, some not.
In a previous post on business writing, one of the tips we covered was to reduce sentence length to increase readability. Studies show that long sentences make text difficult to comprehend. In general, it’s best to keep sentences below 35 words and aim for an average sentence length of around 20 words.
It’s often said that an effective speech opening is vital for connecting with your listeners. Besides making a good first impression, a good beginning to your speech helps you win the trust and attention of your listeners.
The speech opening is where you have the best chance to build a bridge of understanding between you and your audience. But how do you connect with a new audience when delivering a speech?
What’s the best style of copywriting to use if you want to sell your products through catalogues, brochures or websites?
It depends on your products and the type of buyers you’re targeting.
One helpful guide I have used over the years is How to Write Powerful Catalog Copy by Herschell Gordon Lewis. In the book, Lewis defines the fourteen main catalogue copywriting styles, and when it’s best to use each one.
Although the book was published twenty years ago, the ideas presented are just as applicable today.
Do you get a feeling of dread when you need to write a business proposal?
When faced with the prospect of writing a proposal to win business, do you think of a thousand other things you would rather be doing?
Writing a business proposal isn’t as bad as it seems when you understand the elements needed for an effective proposal.
Each business proposal will have different requirements, depending on
Barack Obama’s success in the 2008 US presidential election showed us the power and relevance of well crafted and delivered speeches. One of the ‘secrets’ of Obama’s speaking success is his use of rhetoric. Although the term has taken on negative connotations to mean insincere and pompous language, rhetoric can be used to enhance a speaker’s credibility and make their messages more memorable.
A copywriter can spend hours creating a message that captures the essence of your business and persuades readers to enquire or buy. But even the best brochure or website copy can negated by ineffective graphic design. An example is reverse type. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, reverse type is when light coloured text is used on a dark background – for example, white text on a black background.
Editing is an essential step in developing effective business documents. Besides correcting grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors, editing can make your writing easier to understand and more persuasive. Here are a few simple editing tips that can help you make your business writing more clear and effective.
A business plan is critical to achieving consistent growth in any organisation. Unfortunately, most small to medium businesses don’t have a business plan. Even if they do have a business plan it usually isn’t up to date and it isn’t clearly communicated to the staff, on whose shoulders the successful execution of the business plan rests.
What’s the recommended format for dot point series (also called bullet lists and bulleted lists)?
We gave our Better Business Writing presentation at a non-profit organisation last week. The writers in the audience had questions about the correct way to structure bulleted lists (these are also called dot point series and bullet lists). This is an important editing and proofreading issue that comes up many forms of business writing.