Business Writing Training

We understand that being able to write in a clear and professional style is important to your business. That is why we have developed the Business Writing Institute and the Effective Business Writing seminar. This practice-driven business writing workshop will significantly improve your ability to write in English, so that your readers will receive a clear, concise, effective message. Most professionals spend at least 15-20% of their time writing for business; emails, memos, business letters, reports and other business correspondence. Our customized approach guarantees an improvement in business communication skills that will increase your productivity, success and job satisfaction.

Learn more about our business writing courses here, or contact us for more information.

Benefits of business writing training classes:

• learn how to write a business letter
• discover the skills of writing a business letter
• learn to create clear business correspondence
• understand the difference of writing for business
• improve overall business communication

Business Writing Skills Training: Why Using Contractions Isn't a Bad Thing

Business writing today is much less formal than it was twenty years ago, mainly due to the influence of email. Most people use email as an alternative to face-to-face conversation where informality is key.

Since we frequently use contractions when speaking, it's certainly acceptable to use contractions in most of our daily business writing. However, confusion over the correct form can complicate the issue.

When we contract words, we make one word out of two. To show that letters are missing, we use an apostrophe in place of the missing letters. The apostrophe must go where the letters are missing! Do not becomes don't; I am becomes I'm; cannot becomes can't. (Note that cannot is actually already one word--an exception to the two-word rule. It is incorrect to write "I can not attend the meeting." It should be written, "I cannot attend the meeting" or "I can't attend the meeting.")

Apostrophes can be confusing because they're also used to show possession: man's office; woman's briefcase; executive's decision. Don't be misled into thinking theirs or hers, which also show possession, should have apostrophes: They are personal possessive pronouns (like mine, his, its), which never have apostrophes. An easy way to remember is this rhyme: "Possessive its never splits."

When determining whether to use it's or its, ask yourself if you're contracting two words or if you want to show possession. In other words, "Do I mean it is (or it has--as in 'It's got the biggest window') or am I referring to ownership?" The following sentence shows examples of contractions (missing letters) and a personal possessive pronoun: "It's too bad the dog doesn't have its own house."

Remember that although it's okay to use contractions in business writing, it's not always preferable. When you want to emphasize a point, using two words might be a better choice: "Despite the economic downturn, we are not planning to downsize our work force in the near future."

Source: Mary M. Ward link

Related Terms: business writing training, business writing seminar, business writing seminars, business letters, business letter, business correspondence, writing for business, writing a business letter, business communication, how to write a business letter