Monthly Archives: April 2013

Clarity in Communication

The overall objective of any communication is to convey the point to the recipient clearly.  If only it were so easy.

 

“There is nothing so simple that it can’t be misunderstood.”

~William (Junior) Teague

 

We must make certain that when we are writing, we keep our reader in mind as we craft our message.

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

What You Can Do Today

We all know that old adage, don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

 

“Tomorrow’s the most important thing in life.  When it arrives and puts itself in our hands, we can only hope we learned something from yesterday.”

~ John Wayne

 

Tomorrow will arrive, day after day; we cannot control this passage of time.  We can control our own activities and direct them to ensure that we are prepared for a better tomorrow.

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

Take Another Look at Something You Thought You Knew

We get to a stage when we think that we know enough and so stop looking around in wonder.

 

“It is always quietly thrilling to find yourself looking at a world you know well but have never seen from such an angle before.”

~Bill Bryson

 

Writing about something familiar can be just such a prompt to be able to see it in a new way, with fresh eyes.

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

The Need for Change

Growth is good change, but requires some painful stretching on our part.

 

“When the pain of staying the same exceeds the pain that it takes to change, it is then that we change.”

~Dr. Edwin Louis Cole

 

If we focus our attention on the opportunities that we can gain, we can push through the reluctance for growth and change.

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

Stretching Ourselves

Life is full of interesting possibilities, and while we cannot sample all of them, we should stretch for some new options periodically.

 

“Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it, but your arrow will fly higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself.”

~Joel Hawes

 

Just as our muscles protest infrequent actions as we get older unless we retain variety of motion, our minds need to continue to be stretched too.

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

Setting the Tone of Written Communications – Unwelcome News

Conveying unwelcome news by way of a written message happens regularly, but it is an art to do it well.  Do you want the reader to focus on the news itself, or past the news to a better way forward?

 

“To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”

~Henry David Thoreau

 

Communications should create a tone that makes the intent of the document clear.

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

Take Charge of Your Written Communications

How many emails do you write in a day?  When you receive an email message, how often do you have to ask the writer for clarification because their point is not immediately clear?

 

“Either you think or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you.”

~F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

We are all too busy to spend time chasing down unclear information, and when we are the author of the information we do not want our messages to be ignored because our intent was not clear.  Better to spend time upgrading your writing skills to present a clear message the first time.

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

Making Interesting Choices

We are faced with so very many choices on a regular basis – what we should do, who we should be, what we should buy.

 

“If you’re willing to fail interestingly, you tend to succeed interestingly.”

~Edward Albee

 

Sometimes the best course is to make the more difficult, and interesting, choice.

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

Find Joy in Writing

There are things that we enjoy doing, like going on vacation; and things that we find onerous like doing our taxes.  Then there are so very many tasks in between these two opposites.

 

“Knowledge which we gain with enthusiasm… tends to last longer and go deeper.  Things we learn out of duty, we don’t keep them for long.”

~Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama)

 

Something that perhaps we don’t particularly care for at first, like writing for many, but will bring us closer to a thing that we seek, should be reconsidered then.

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

Great Quotation for Writing & Life

“I am in full possession of accumulated resources – I have only to use them, to persist, to do something more – to do much more – than I have done…  Try everything, do everything, render everything – be an artist, be distinguished, to the last.”

~ Henry James

 

© 2013 BAReed Consulting | Business Writing Coach

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