Blogs constitute the first step in making of an author, today. There
never was a time when so many aspirant authors were seen to find their space.
Further, if your blogs become popular, the chances are strong that when you
write a book the same will also be widely accepted. That will motivate you to
write more and try to become author of a bestselling book. The popularity of eBooks
may have hurt the traditional book business, but more books are being written
than ever before.
But that is only one of the many advantages of writing blogs.
The more commonly in use is the benefit of improving your writing skills
in general. It will improve your vocabulary, your sentence construction and
remove problems of syntax. Clarity of expression also improves your credibility
as well as your productivity.
I am reproducing a document which I found on the net. It is very inspiring.
The title of the document is:
The Importance
of Good Writing Skills in the Workplace
“Profession
Obviously good writing skills are
important when your job involves writing, be it as a journalist, paralegal or
public relations professional – that goes without saying. If you are employed
for your writing skills, having “good” writing skills is a job requirement.
However, more professions require good writing skills than those traditionally
associated with writing. Any time a profession requires written communication,
writing skills become important.
Communication
With emails, notes, letters, texts
and Tweets, most people spend a fair amount of time at work communicating via
the written word. Whether you are messaging a colleague, writing to your
manager, or crafting the company newsletter, your writing skills can boost or
hinder your career easily, even if you do not have a “writing” profession.
Basically, writing skills make a difference in how you come across.
Credibility
People with good writing skills are
generally seen as more credible. Think to yourself how you would interpret an
email from a colleague that was filled with typos and grammatical errors. At
best, he was negligent in that he didn’t proofread his message or use spell
check; at worst, he comes across as less intelligent and less capable. Better
writers tend to get higher grades and be perceived as more competent and more
intelligent than their less literary counterparts.
Considerations
In the workplace, you need to make
sure that you proofread everything you write, from an email to a company memo.
However, just because good writing skills are a plus, you still need to pick
your battles. Correcting others can work against you, in some cases even
undermining you. Further, context and tone are just as important as grammar.
While obvious mistakes are a no-no, such as using “their” and “they’re”
incorrectly, smaller errors, like confusing “who” and “whom” are less important.
Importance
of Good Business Writing Skills
Learning and honing business writing
skills can have a positive impact on an individual’s career advancement.
Effective channels of communication make an organization run smoothly.
Professional quality writing being sent through these channels improves
productivity and the ability of all functional areas to work together,
particularly in an increasingly global workplace where collaboration is the
norm.
Persuasion
Sales and marketing professionals
are particularly skilled at using the written word to persuade customers to
purchase the company’s products and services--or at least pay attention to its
advertisements. But everyone in the business world finds it necessary at times
to persuade someone else to take an action based on written material they have
sent. The chief financial officer of a company makes written recommendations to
the chief executive officer about expenditures. Human Resources tries to make a
written case for hiring a particular individual to the manager to whom the
person will report.
Clarity
Clarity in writing is one of the
most difficult skills to master. Word choice comes more easily for some
businesspeople than for others. Venture capitalists sometimes receive business
plans that are so unclear it is difficult for them to tell what business the
company is in. Presumably, expressing it clearly on paper proved too difficult
for them.
Professional Courtesy
In this age of text messaging,
business communication increasingly comes in a shorthand fashion. Even email
has a much less formal style in many companies than a letter. Taken to an
extreme, this type of writing can seem lazy. If communication becomes too
abrupt, it can send a message that the person receiving the message was not
important enough for the sender to take the time to communicate in complete
sentences or check spelling and grammar. Conversely, a carefully written email
can be more impressive than a letter because it has the added element of rapid
transmission--the other person was so important that the sender wanted to make
sure the message arrived quickly.
Completeness
Business communication can be
ineffective if a document does not completely express its intention. An
instruction manual on how to operate machinery, for example, must not have gaps
in the sequence of steps or the how-to explanations. The result of incomplete
information could be failure to run the machine properly or even cause injury
to the equipment operator. A financial report that has the quality of
completeness would be one that answers the reader’s questions before he has
time to ask them.
Inspiring Confidence
Supervisors and business associates
who express themselves well in writing inspire a feeling of confidence in their
abilities from employees or colleagues. Sharp writing conveys the impression
that a sharp mind composed the words. Sloppy writing, on the other hand, can
make others conclude that the creator is not intelligent. Some might even
question their job-related competence.
Team Building
Written communication to employees
is one way a company shows that it values their contribution and appreciates
their efforts. Subtle but strong bonds of teamwork can be built through simple
means such as sharing company-wide accomplishments -- sales milestones, for
example -- with everyone in the organization. The tone of the communication is
particularly important. If it is energetic and positive, the employees will
respond to it in an equally positive fashion.”
Hope you find it very useful for not
only writing blogs but also for enhancing your expression in general.
Thanks for reading.
