Many resources available on the Internet for free, on blogs, and on Youtube are based on the usual, classic, and somewhat trivial ways of learning English.
And while some of these methods serve to make the process of reaching an optimal level in speaking, writing, and understanding English faster, more intense, or more tolerable, the truth is that they do very little to advance your professional career or actively involve you in the work environment if you are looking for a job instead of studying.
This is where Business English Writing comes into play, which is the same language as always, but with very specific characteristics geared toward a professional context, giving you the tools to help you write emails, and speeches, how to speak at a work conference, a team meeting or write a report of any kind.
If you want to maximize your English writing skills, the paper company EssayAssistant suggests that you consider the following 6 tips that make up everything you need for effective business writing in English. There you go!
1. Create audience-oriented language
When you write in a business environment, for professional work purposes, it’s not about analyzing a topic or reading a passage and writing an essay about it. On the contrary, when it comes to Business English, you should target your writing to a specific audience.
For example, an email to a company’s communications department, a sales report to your boss for the week, a topic for discussion with the team to find a solution to some problem, a summary of the work done on a particular project, among many other possible scenarios.
This implies that the language used has specific characteristics, such as formality, tone, presentation, development, and conclusion of your message, and how and when to address it.
In addition, the nature of the message must be defined for specific purposes, for example, if it is intended for a customer, you may need to add general information about the company; if it is intended for internal communication, less information about the company and more specifics about a particular issue will be required.
Similarly, if you are tasked with communicating the weaknesses of a project, you must do so tactfully, without violating the communication codes that maintain a pleasant working atmosphere; but at the same time, you will have to express your opinion strongly.
Therefore, the most important thing is the strength, clarity, and formality with which you express your thoughts in writing so that professional goals will be achieved without problems.
2. Avoid slang words and jargon
If you don’t know: slang words are, so to speak, special terms created specifically for different areas of communication. For example, street slang has its own special words that only the locals of a neighborhood or country understand. The same goes for professions such as medicine or journalism.
In that sense, they are best avoided, as many of these words and phrases are abbreviations and sentences made up of terms that have absolutely nothing to do with what they actually mean – like when you say “It’s raining cats and dogs,” meaning it’s pouring rain.
If you decide to use all that informal jargon, the result can be disastrous, your message won’t reach your audience, and the wording will be forgotten. You’re putting your work at risk, so always avoid them.
Both slang words and jargon are enemies of clear and direct communication. Instead, they lead to confusion and create barriers between communication channels.
3. Accurate, clear, and concise
Unlike typical essays on exams like the TOEFL, GRE, or GMAT, when it comes to business English, everything is different. And that doesn’t mean it’s easier or harder, it all depends on your language skills.
So you may be wondering… What has changed? What is so noticeably different? Just clarity, precision, and brevity. When you have to communicate in writing at work or in MBA graduate school, texts should be as short as possible, and long only when absolutely necessary.
But beyond length – and even more importantly – is the content itself. Accurate and concise means being as clear and direct as possible, without literary embellishments, without overly technical, specialized, or complicated words, and without being wordy or with too long or redundant preambles.
So getting to the point is the best way to be persuasive when writing in English. Your employees, customers, clients, colleagues, bosses, or assigned team will appreciate it. Some of the resources you can use to be concise and accurate are as follows:
Write well-structured messages
State the main point, development, and conclusion. Always greet and say goodbye politely. Address the person(s) you need, or do so in general if warranted.
Use strong verbs and words
When writing, you must be understood. To do this, basic sentences must be formed correctly, with optimal use of English spelling and grammar.
Dividing elements into bullet points
Bullet points, commonly called bullets, are used to break up important information, separating them to describe different elements as needed. They make reading comprehension easier and avoid confusion.
4. Rely on numbers
Data collection methods such as surveys, statistics, and numbers are indispensable for effective business English writing. When it comes to sales and business, inaccuracies are unacceptable.
An inaccuracy is incomplete or misleading information. You can’t say “almost nine” or “maybe five entries this month”. Instead, the goal is to provide completely accurate data that leaves no room for doubt when you analyze it.
In addition to context, all of the information and data surrounding the main arguments is essential, because it is by this that you will determine if your message was successful or if it was lost along the way.
Always consider the variables of your project, what was required of you, what the goals were, what was accomplished and what was not, what can be done to improve in the short term, and what changes are suggested to improve any task.
5. Formal – yes, Robotic – no
While the business world can be interpreted as a world of briefcases and ties, it is a mistake to assume that everything in writing must have the same clichéd, square, and orthodox characteristics.
The key is balance, because yes, you have to be formal in your writing technique, but always advocate writing that is simple and clear to all who read it. So, the goal is to find a way to make the reading friendly, intimate, empathetic, and always mindful of the details and what the recipient is thinking or might be thinking.
It’s these elements of intimacy with the reader that can benefit you greatly as you work toward your goals. That’s how important messages are, so you should never underestimate them, nor should you overlook your writing style.
The key word here is balance, because at some point you may get carried away and end up writing overly friendly sentences, almost as much as if you were comfortable expressing them only in your circle. Always stay away from both extremes to achieve the perfect balance.
6. Edit
This learning resource is always on another widely read list of the most common mistakes made when writing in English, which is to send a message or consider it “finished” without first applying editing correction.
Editing is as important as anything else in writing a message. This is all the more true in business English, where you often have only one chance to engage or persuade a customer.
Every time you finish writing a text, read it carefully, analyze every word, every sentence, and the ordering of ideas, and ask yourself if the message is clear or if it is confusing. You can also ask an essay writing service for help.
It will not take you long, it all depends on the length of your letter. Remember that as long as you have time to write, you should make the most of it, and nothing guarantees peace of mind and tranquility like the assurance that you have produced quality work, tested and approved according to your standards and parameters.
And now you know how to write your papers using Business English at work or university!
