Whether you’re still in school or just starting your career, it’s important to be able to share your thoughts and ideas in a clear manner. With so much communication happening digitally, effective writing is one of the most important skills you can work on. Basically, your ideas may be brilliant, but if you can’t communicate them, how will anyone know?
At Lenovo, we need to communicate in a clear, effective manner with a range of people from different age groups, backgrounds, and countries. Here are some of tips we use that can help make your writing more effective.
Think about the main idea
What do you want your audience to take away from your piece of writing? Make sure everything you write adds to that—and don’t be afraid to cut things that aren’t relevant. Less fluff = more clarity.
Sound it out
Read and re-read copy to yourself to make sure it passes the “no corporate jargon” rule. If it sounds formal when you read it out loud, keep pushing it to be more conversational.
Change things up
We can be consistent with our tone of voice while still varying the way we construct our writing. Changing up stylistic elements make us feel fresh and help us stand out from the corporate crowd.
- Follow a short sentence with a long one
- Ask a question
- Use italics or bolding or even *asterisks*
- Throw an em dash (—) in there…or even an ellipsis
- Dot it out with a list
Apply tactics thoughtfully
You don’t need to use every tactic, or even a majority of them, in every piece of writing. Instead, focus on the ones that are most relevant for your specific communication.
Your turn!
What are some tips or tactics you use to make your writing more effective? Share in the comments below.