Business Writing For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Book description

Learn how to write for the results you want every time, in every medium!

Do you wish you could write better? In today’s business world, good writing is key to success in just about every endeavor. Writing is how you connect with colleagues, supervisors, clients, partners, employees, and people you’ve never met. No wonder strong writers win the jobs, promotions and contracts. Business Writing For Dummies shows you, from the ground up, how to create persuasive messages with the right content and language every time—messages your readers will understand and act on.

This friendly guide equips you with a step-by-step method for planning what to say and how to say it in writing. This sytem empowers you to handle every writing challenge with confidence, from emails to proposals, reports to resumes, presentations to video scripts, blogs to social posts, websites to books. Discover down-to-earth techniques for sharpening your language and correcting your own writing problems. Learn how to adapt content, tone and style for each medium and audience. And learn to use every message you write to build better relationships and solve problems, while getting to the “yes” you want.

Whether you’re aiming to land your first job or are an experienced specialist in your field, Business Writing For Dummies helps you build your communication confidence and stand out. 

  • Present yourself with authority and credibility
  • Understand and use the tools of persuasion
  • Communicate as a remote worker, freelancer, consultant or entrepreneur
  • Strategize your online presence to support your goals
  • Bring out the best in people and foster team spirit as a leader
  • Prepare to ace interviews, pitches and confrontations

Good communication skills, particularly writing, are in high demand across all industries. Use this book to gain the edge you need to promote your own success, now and down the line as your career goals evolve.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  5. Part 1: Winning with Writing
    1. Chapter 1: Making Writing Your Weapon for Success
      1. Putting Strategic Writing to Work for You
      2. Planning and Structuring Every Message
      3. Applying the Goal-Plus-Audience Strategy to More Media
    2. Chapter 2: Planning Your Message Every Time
      1. Adopting the Plan-Draft-Edit Principle
      2. Fine-Tuning Your Plan: Your Goals and Audience
      3. Making People Care
      4. Choosing Your Written Voice: Tone
      5. Using Relationship-Building Techniques
    3. Chapter 3: Making Your Writing Work: The Basics
      1. Stepping into Twenty-First-Century Writing Style
      2. Energizing Your Language
      3. Employing Reader-Friendly Graphic Techniques
    4. Chapter 4: Self-Editing: Professional Ways to Improve Your Work
      1. Changing Hats: From Writer to Editor
      2. Reviewing the Big and Small Pictures
      3. Moving from Passive to Active
      4. Sidestepping Jargon, Clichés and Extra Modifiers
      5. Energizing What You Write
    5. Chapter 5: Fixing Common Writing Problems
      1. Organizing Your Document
      2. Catching Common Mistakes
      3. Fielding Pronoun Challenges
      4. Fixing Common Word Confusions
      5. Reviewing and Proofreading: The Final Check
  6. Part 2: Applying Your Skills to Business Messages and Documents
    1. Chapter 6: Writing Email and Letters That Get Results
      1. Fast-Forwarding Your Agenda with Email
      2. Starting Strong
      3. Building Content That Achieves Your Goals
      4. Structuring Your Middle Ground
      5. Closing Strong
      6. Polishing Your Email
      7. Using Email for Marketing
      8. Composing Effective Letters
    2. Chapter 7: Creating High-Impact Business Materials
      1. Creating Valued Reports
      2. Fast-Tracking Your Proposals
      3. Writing an Executive Summary
      4. Writing Tips for All Business Documents
  7. Part 3: Writing to Present Yourself Effectively
    1. Chapter 8: Building Persuasion into Your Writing
      1. Connecting with Your Readers
      2. Strategizing in Many Dimensions
      3. Planning Your Persuasive Message
      4. Using Persuasive Language
      5. Finding Your Core Business Message
      6. Finding, Shaping and Using Stories
      7. Translating Words into Visuals
    2. Chapter 9: Speaking Well for Yourself
      1. Building Your Elevator Speech
      2. Preparing and Giving Presentations
      3. Composing Talking Points for Live Interaction
    3. Chapter 10: Writing for the Job Hunt
      1. Knowing and Expressing Your Value
      2. Assessing All Your Skills
      3. Writing Résumés That Win the Race
      4. Styling Language for Résumés
      5. Succeeding with Cover Letters
      6. Networking with Messages
  8. Part 4: Writing for Online Media
    1. Chapter 11: Writing for the Digital World
      1. Positioning Yourself Online
      2. Understanding Visual Platforms
      3. Choosing Your Platforms
      4. Writing for Digital Media
      5. Using Social Media Platforms
      6. Networking with Twitter
      7. Working with LinkedIn
    2. Chapter 12: Creating Content for Your Online Life
      1. Creating a Website from the Ground Up
      2. Creating a Blog
      3. Telling Your Story with Video
  9. Part 5: Leveraging Your Writing Skills
    1. Chapter 13: Writing for the Workplace: Managing Up, Down and Sideways
      1. Communicating as a Manager
      2. Writing to Manage Up
      3. Writing to Colleagues, Collaborators and Teammates
      4. Using Backup Memos
      5. Language for Communicating Sideways
      6. Using Turnaround Techniques
      7. Communicating with a Team of Equals
    2. Chapter 14: Writing for Entrepreneurs and Virtual Workers
      1. Communicating as a Virtual Worker
      2. Teaming Techniques and Practices
      3. Using Everyday Communication Tools: Email and Group Chat
      4. Writing as an Entrepreneur
      5. Writing Challenges for the Entrepreneur
  10. Part 6: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 15: Ten (or So) Ways to Grow Your Personal Power with Writing
      1. Use Writing to Problem-Solve
      2. Write a “Pro” and “Con” List
      3. Handwrite to Spark Creativity
      4. Write to Take Charge of Your Emotions
      5. Take Notes about Your Work
      6. Take the Meeting Notes
      7. Take Notes of Your Anytime Ideas
      8. Prepare for Confrontation
      9. Write a Long-Range Career Plan
      10. Create Profiles of Your VIPs
      11. Write Gratefully
    2. Chapter 16: Ten Steps to Writing Your Own Book
      1. Envision Your Finished Book
      2. Create an Elevator Speech for Your Book
      3. Think about Marketing — Early
      4. Break the Writing into Pieces
      5. Create a Folder System
      6. Assess the Practicalities
      7. Write a Proposal
      8. Draft the Copy
      9. Liven Up Your Content
      10. Check Out Self-Publishing Options
  11. Index
  12. About the Author
  13. Connect with Dummies
  14. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Business Writing For Dummies, 3rd Edition
  • Author(s): Natalie Canavor
  • Release date: February 2021
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781119696698