Perfecting Your Business Writing Style

I recently skimmed a book by Tom Sant entitled The Language of Success.
It preaches a lot of concepts I find very important in business writing.

Key takeaways for me were:

• Always make sure your written communication is clear, concise and situated to the audience you are directing the communication to. In my career in business venture capital, I can’t tell you how many times I have received written communication that violates this concept.
• Stay away from adding fluff in your emails. It gives off an amateur impression.
• Always proofread for grammar, spelling and punctuation. Your written communication should be bullet proof. Don’t give people the excuse not to digest the content of your message because they are turned off by a silly mistake.

I also took a course at OpenView with Linda Long on communication that did a great job detailing how to present arguments in any form of business communication. Spending time to clearly articulate an argument or perspective is often looked over (and it is clearly essential in the business of venture capital financing for both entrepreneurs and investors). I highly recommend reading her book The Power of Logic for more insight.
KKF