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: © 2008 by Bonnie Budzowski, President of InCredible Messages, LP. For more free articles, go to www.IncredibleMessages.com or contact Bonnie at info@IncredibleMessages.com.

Imagine yourself in a situation in which one professional shows you how to incorporate the insights of three perspectives into your business communication:  marketing, persuasion, and visual design. 

Imagine an interactive session with an entertaining and inspiring speaker.  Do you like what you see?  You’ve just envisioned working with Bonnie Budzowski, President of inCredible Messages, LP.

Contact Bonnie to learn more about how she can guide you and your team to create compelling business messages or call 412-828-1629 . 

Return to Top