The early parts of my career were in "corporate communications" and at an ad agency and I learned so much about how to get a point across quickly and concisely (and also saw lots of examples of when people take forever to get to their point in writing, and how ineffective that is). It's a good exercise to have to fit your words into a small square on the back of a brochure.
There’s business writing, and then there’s corporate word vomit. The latter is of no value. I was once worried about How To Email At Work and I very quickly realized a lot of people who’ve been doing the whole business writing thing longer than I’ve been alive are not good at it. The reader in me despairs at the quality of most writing that arrives in my inbox. It’s always nice when someone emails you and is good at communicating!
The nearly astronomical volume of emails I've sent pales in comparison to the number I've received ... the result of the 'Reply All' button that, seriously, should be removed and tucked away somewhere where you only access it on the rare occasion when required.
Your business writing advice absolutely works across the genres. I shudder to think of how many emails I’ve written in my corporate past. And while I do not miss business writing, I definitely learned precision and how to keep the message on point and concise, which I carry into micro/flash writing; haiku; and my latest venture--foodwriting.
The early parts of my career were in "corporate communications" and at an ad agency and I learned so much about how to get a point across quickly and concisely (and also saw lots of examples of when people take forever to get to their point in writing, and how ineffective that is). It's a good exercise to have to fit your words into a small square on the back of a brochure.
A gem of a post, Mark - thank you! Saving it for reference!
There’s business writing, and then there’s corporate word vomit. The latter is of no value. I was once worried about How To Email At Work and I very quickly realized a lot of people who’ve been doing the whole business writing thing longer than I’ve been alive are not good at it. The reader in me despairs at the quality of most writing that arrives in my inbox. It’s always nice when someone emails you and is good at communicating!
The nearly astronomical volume of emails I've sent pales in comparison to the number I've received ... the result of the 'Reply All' button that, seriously, should be removed and tucked away somewhere where you only access it on the rare occasion when required.
Your business writing advice absolutely works across the genres. I shudder to think of how many emails I’ve written in my corporate past. And while I do not miss business writing, I definitely learned precision and how to keep the message on point and concise, which I carry into micro/flash writing; haiku; and my latest venture--foodwriting.