Written business communication is subject to rules expanding far beyond the rules of grammar and/or spelling. This includes letters, documents, contracts, memos, e-mails, journal entries and hastily written notes scrawled in the margin of a document or even a napkin.
These guidelines or conventions include things such as: recognition of the legality of all written documents, removal of the first person point of view, political correctness, common sense, who to cc on a document, and most importantly, the ‘24-hour’ rule. The easiest way to think of these is simply “if you don’t want someone to see it in the newspaper, don’t put it in writing regardless of format.”
Legal Documents
Writing for business is a necessary part of many jobs but it is a critical skill in the world of management. In addition to knowing how to write something, it is important to know when to put something in writing. The written document at work becomes a legal document which never goes away. In the electronic era of today, documents are never ‘totally gone’. Retrieval from electronic media is a common practice in our litigious society. ‘Erased’ e-mails and other documents have brought the demise of multiple businesses over the last decade.
Write in the Third Person
Executive written communication should be considered to be formal and objective. Remove the personal, subjective point of view from all business writing. Always write in the objective 3rd person. Reread your documents and remove all “I” or “me” statements. Rewrite using the objective 3rd person point of view. You are not writing a journal about you so leave the personal point of view out of business writing.
Harassment and/or Common Sense
Very simply put - regardless of your personal opinions, references to race, gender, religion or ethnic background have no place in business writing. This almost goes without saying. Stop and think about what is being written. Can it be better said verbally over the phone or face to face? Is it something you want in a written format? Remember that once it is written electronically, it cannot be totally erased.
Who to Include in the CC List
Politics and hierarchies do exist in the business world. Accept and recognize that fact in your writing. This is not saying to ‘cc’ everyone in your chain of command; use your common sense and think about why you are including each person in the CC list. Carbon copy only those with a real need to know.
The ‘24-Hour’ Rule
No business document should be written in anger; however, this is not always possible. Wait at least 24 hours and then reread the document before sending. Chances are that you may choose to tone down or reconsider your initial response. There are occasions when 24 hours may not be enough. A simple “I have received your memo and will get back to you within the next day or so” is acceptable when you need to expand the cooling off period. This is far more acceptable than to respond in anger that which you cannot retrieve. Never reply in anger - your job depends on it!
Writing for business is a basic part of the job; but knowing what to include, what not to include and what to stay away from is a key responsibility of all management personnel. A responsibility that cannot be taken lightly.
