When working on a team, particularly one spread among different locations, it is incredibly important to keep written communication clear and concise. Face-to-face communication makes use of tonality and body language, and both play a very important role in delivering your message. Since written communication doesn’t consider these factors, messages can easily be misconstrued and amplify problems rather than moving your team toward a solution. We have compiled the following tips for written communication to help you keep your professional communication as clear and succinct as possible.
- Pay close attention to context. When responding to messages, carefully read through previous conversation to make sure your response is relevant and you’re answering all questions asked.
- Keep language precise. Avoid ambiguous words that designate without describing or specifying (place, something, stuff, etc). Choosing vocabulary like this invites misinterpretation and other problems to sneak in. Abbreviations and slang are also easily misinterpreted and should be avoided.
- Use short sentences. Using long sentences makes it easier for the reader to lose track of the message. Opt for short and simply stated ideas to keep your reader engaged.
- Break up paragraphs. It can be difficult to follow long blocks of text. To be sure your whole message is read and understood, break it up into shorter paragraphs. Be sure it is well-organized and follows a logical progression.
- Don’t rely on your computer to catch mistakes. Remember that spellcheck can’t catch correctly spelled words in the wrong context. Do your best to catch your own errors.
- Encourage feedback. Make it clear that feedback is always appreciated. If working on a sizable document, update the written material incorporating the feedback to ensure the same misunderstanding doesn’t happen again.
- Read the message out loud. To make sure what you have written makes sense, read the message back to yourself out loud. Consider revising sections that are difficult to read. Before sending an especially important email, have someone else read through what you have written.
Clear written communication skills will benefit you in all aspects of your job, speeding up processes, minimizing problems and building strong work relationships. Sendio’s email security solution further aids productivity by eliminating spam, viruses, phishing and miscellaneous malware. The Sender Address Verification is similar to the verification process used for social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, allowing you to build your own network of trusted customers, suppliers, partners, friends and associates.