Sloppy writing: Don't let it hold you back PART IV

Keep your message short and simple

In most successful organisations, people will be struggling to balance the many tasks that they need to attend to daily. We live in a very competitive world where almost everyone is trying to standout and outshine other people to get ahead. Therefore time is a very valuable commodity.

Crystal clarity in your writing should be your goal, always!

This makes it even more important to be able to convey your message as clearly as possible in the shortest period possible. Although short and brief is preferred, it should never be at the expense of high quality content and good writing.

If you can say what you need to say in two short paragraphs, use two short paragraphs. Do not feel that you have to fill up an entire page of a letter purely for aesthetic reasons. Would you not rather read two paragraphs instead of two long chapters if the two paragraphs can tell you what you need to know?

One technique which I find extremely useful is the use of headers before a paragraph which will act as a guide posts to the reader. Instead of paragraph after paragraph of text, try to break it up into logical chunks. This creates the illusion that your piece is actually shorter. Which would you rather read, the mass of text on the left or the more structured piece on the right?

Even short notes or emails can benefit from good formatting and the use of headers and bullet points

Another technique is the use of short idea/concept summary at the start of your paragraphs/key points that will help to lead the thoughts of the reader. Take a look at the examples below:

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Company ABC offer the following advantages in their proposal:

1. Their proposal is the lowest among the 5 bidders and they provide many value added services not offered by the others.
2. They are committed to completing the project within 7 weeks.This 1 week earlier than their closest competitor and within the estimates of given by our internal technical team.
3. All their staff who will be attached to this project have a minimum of 7 years experience in managing similar projects of equal complexity. The other bidders offer much higher variation in experience among their team, with some having only 2 years of experience.

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This is the alternative:

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Company ABC offer the following advantages in their proposal:

1. Lowest Cost -Their proposal is the lowest among the 5 bidders and they provide many value added services not offered by the others.

2. Fastest completion - They are committed to completing the project within 7 weeks.This 1 week earlier than their closest competitor and within the estimates of given by our internal technical team.

3. Most experienced project team -All their staff who will be attached to this project have a minimum of 7 years experience in managing similar projects of equal complexity. The other bidders offer much higher variation in experience among their team, with some having only 2 years of experience.

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Notice how we introduce the key idea at the start and then provide details rather than make the reader have to think. Guide your reader's thinking and you will get your message across better and clearer. This also increases the probability they will agree with you and approve what you propose!

Less is MORE!

Unfortunately it is much harder to write less than it is to write more. Far more effort is required to edit and rewrite material until it becomes short, concise and clear. Always review what you have written and see if you can summarise what you have written so that it can be more shorter and easier to understand.