We can all improve our business writing. One overlooked opportunity is being more specific in our writing at work. Luckily, this is a relatively easy thing to fix and might even help us come across as more of an expert on the topic.
What Does It Mean to Be Specific in Writing?
Being exact with our words and explicit in our content helps share concrete information with our readers. Removing the unimportant or vague details helps our readers focus on the facts and data they need to know as quickly as possible.
This does not mean we need to remove our personality from the content. We all have a unique writing voice that we want to keep. We just want to make sure we are being as clear as possible in the messages we send.
How to Be More Specific When Writing at Work
We are all busy. People want to receive clear content that communicates the necessary information as concisely as possible. Watch out for these commonly used words and see if you can instead be more concrete.
- One of the easiest ways to start to do this is by replacing vague words like some, a few, or a lot with the number. Instead of sharing a few key takeaways, share three takeaways. Or, rather of sending a couple samples for the client to review, send four samples.
- Another easy way to uplevel your writing is by swapping out words like thing or stuff with the object. For example, instead of sharing three things for the group to consider, share three recommendations. Or, rather than saying we have a lot of stuff to cover in this update, say we have four product updates to cover.
- Similarly, when it comes to timing, be as descriptive as possible. Is it possible to replace words like later, in a few weeks, or throughout the year with a date or milestone? For example, try to follow up on January 8th as an alternative to following up later. Or, clarify that product enhancements will be rolled out the third week of the month versus throughout the year.
Structuring Your Messages to Be Clear
In addition to the words, how we structure our writing can help keep our writing clearer for our audiences.
- Organize your writing into sections and add subheads when possible, especially when the content is longer, to make it easier for your readers to follow. Doing this step can also help identify pieces of information that are not as important to share in the email or report and can be saved for another communication.
- Similarly, use bulleted or numbered lists when it makes sense.
- Consider highlighting or bolding certain words or sentences that are especially important for the reader to know or remember.
- Also, clarify what action the reader should take with the information. Is this for their knowledge and can be filed for later reference? Does the person need to respond with approval? Do you want people to agree to meet to discuss further? Specify what people need to do on the information shared.
Take Action
Put this into action to improve your business writing. When writing your next email or report at work, follow these steps to make it clearer and more precise. With practice, you will begin to do this naturally over time when writing at work.
- Write the first draft without worrying about the words. The initial goal is to get the content down on paper or screen.
- Then, read the content again, specifically looking for any vague sections. Can you move the content around or add in subheads to make it clearer for the readers?
- Next, look for any of the words or phrases shared above. Can you tweak these to be more definite?
