Permission is given to reprint the following articles, provided that the following contact information is provided in its entirety. 

© by Bonnie Budzowski, President of InCredible Messages, LP. 
Visit  www.IncredibleMessages.com or contact Bonnie at info@IncredibleMessages.com. 

See More InCredible Messages Articles or visit InCredible Messages Blog

An Unlikely Guide to Good Writing: the Telephone!

By Bonnie Budzowski
President, InCredible Messages, LP

Remember the days when you tried to fill out a page or expand what you had to say to impress a teacher?  Remember when a big word meant a better grade?  If you are like most people, you say, “Thank heavens those days are behind me!”

Are the days of impressing teachers really gone, or have old habits infiltrated your approach to business writing?  Most professionals still write to impress—they have merely switched the target from a teacher to an executive, a client, or a colleague. 

In professional environments, big words, stiff phrases, and long, complex sentences don’t impress people.  Rather, busy people feel annoyed and impatient when they read, “in the event that subsequent communication is required on this imperative matter....”  The authors of Writing that Works describe this kind of writing as mumbling.  Are you guilty of mumbling when you write?

Here’s some advice to avoid mumbling:  judge your writing by the phone rule.  Choose the same tone in writing that you choose when talking to a customer or another professional on the phone. 

When on the phone, we say things in direct and straightforward ways. We never say, “Pursuant to the above mentioned matter” on the phone.  We say “regarding the widget contract.”   The phone rule demands we write as plainly as we talk.

The rule makes sense.  After all, your job as a professional isn’t to demonstrate how smart or sophisticated you are.  Your job is to serve your customers and work efficiently and effectively with your colleagues.  To do this, you need to communicate clearly and concisely—the way you do on the phone.

Permission is granted to reprint this article when the following contact information is included: © 2011 by Bonnie Budzowski, President of InCredible Messages, LP. For more free articles, go to www.IncredibleMessages.com or contact Bonnie at info@IncredibleMessages.com.

When it’s time to create “killer content” in a book or speech that establishes credibility and boosts your revenue, Bonnie Budzowski is the perfect resource.  An expert in communication, Bonnie specializes in coaching authors and speakers to organize & express thoughts in ways that capture attention, sell their ideas, and move people to action.  Bonnie helps her clients build content with less time and angst than they dream possible. 

Bonnie Budzowski is Founder of inCredible Messages, Past President of the National Speakers Association, Pittsburgh Chapter, and Past Managing Editor of Speaker Magazine.

If you’d like to sell your ideas, boost your influence, or advance your career through a book or presentation, call Bonnie at 412-828-1629, bonnie@inCredibleMessages.com or visit her website at www.inCredibleMessages.com. 

Return to Top