FAQS About Essential Writing Skills in

the Workplace for Influence and Impact

Q1: What are the essential business writing skills?

Understand your audience, and tailor your writing to achieve your purpose by addressing their needs and expectations as succinctly as possible. Don’t bore the reader. Show, don’t tell. Establish an efficient process and present your ideas using a logical structure. Click here for more information.

Q2: What is the definition of business writing? 

Business writing refers to communications at or on behalf of companies, government departments and their agencies, non-government and other organisations, and institutions of all types. It also covers writing related to managing personal business affairs. For more information, please see this blogpost.

Q3: How are business, academic, and content writing different? 

The purpose of business writing is transactional, either directly or indirectly by offering or seeking information about goods and services, or in the interests of regulating trade in goods and services. Academic writing is aimed at demonstrating mastery of a subject, or advancing discussion, debate, research, and understanding of a field. Content writing is aimed at indirect digital marketing. It includes blogs, listicles, advertorials, along with social media posts, videos, podcasts, etc. about issues related to the business of a company or other organisation. For more information, please see this blogpost.

Q4: Are business writing skills relevant to academic writing?

The principles of good writing apply to all types of written communications, including both business and academic writing. This does not mean slavish adherence to a set of standards. It does however mean applying writing principles to serve the aims differ according to context, purpose, content, and audience.

Q5: What is the importance of good communication skills?

Many of the world’s business titans have stressed the importance of clear, concise writing as essential to communicating good ideas so that they get noticed. Bad writing, which tends to be the norm rather than the exception in business, wasting time and money and leading to costly contract disputes. For more information, please click here.

Q6: How do you improve your written communication skills?

Practice is the best way to become a better writer, provided you are disciplined about editing your own work to ensure you have met quality standards essential to engaging and convincing your audience. Welcome feedback, provided it is constructive and helps you identify where you have won over or lost your audience. Read as much as you can with an understanding of how choices of words, grammar, and style can help you achieve the impact you aim for. Please click here for more information.