Business Writing For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 15

Ten (or So) Ways to Grow Your Personal Power with Writing

IN THIS CHAPTER

Solving problems creatively

Sharpening your thinking skills

Equipping yourself to be an in-charge person

Inspiring yourself with clear goals and pathways

Writing well is always its own reward: Effective messages achieve what you want much more often. But writing can also be put to use in personal ways — to catalyze your thinking and problem-solving skills, understand important people in your work life and strategize how to advance toward where you want to be. This chapter gives you ten ways to build your personal power. Refer to the writing techniques covered throughout this book to carry out these ideas.

Use Writing to Problem-Solve

Psychologists say we humans have lazy brains. Deep thinking consumes so much energy that we only undertake it when forced. One result is that when faced with a difficult problem, we try to solve it by instinct, which doesn’t always end well, or we endlessly circle and recircle around the same ground without finding a way out. Writing enables you to break out of this morass. ...