Write to the Point : How to Communicate in Business with Style and Purpose

by Iacone, Salvatore J.

• ISBN13: 9781564146397
• ISBN10: 1564146391
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Career Pr Inc

Summary

Thanks to e-mail, voice mail, cell phones, pagers, and the ever-expanding Web, we live in an age of information overload. Although all of these wonders were designed to make communication easier and faster, speed and efficiency have come with a price. Clear business writing has never been more difficult or stressful. Writers are expected to respond quickly to an endless flow of e-mail messages. Readers complain about an increasing lack of clarity, along with an abundance of mechanical errors. Supervisors and managers are bewildered by employees' inability to simply say what they mean along with a lack of appropriate tone and sense of decorum in the written communications they produce. This book presents proven techniques developed in Dr. Iacone's seminars that will enable greater ease, proficiency, and clarity in writing. The conversational, instructional format walks you through the actual stages of the writing process -- from planning and writing the first draft to editing and proofreading. This invaluable handbook also includes helpful guidelines to correct punctuation; lists of often-confused words; and step-by-step procedures for generating effective e-mail, memos, letters, and reports. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Salvatore J. Iacone, Ph.D., is a management training consultant

Table of Contents

Introduction	7	(2)
Writing to the Point	9	(8)
Getting Started: Stop Staring and Start Writing	17	(6)
It's Not About You: Writing for Your Reader	23	(14)
The Right Package: Organizing and Evaluating Information	37	(16)
Don't Obfuscate: Writing With Clarity and Precision	53	(14)
Leave Out the Commercials: Let the Sentences Sell the Message	67	(24)
Who Do You Think You Are? Tone and Style	91	(8)
Last Restroom for 300 Miles: Editing for Content and Structure	99	(16)
Don't Trust the Spell-Checker: Proofreading Made Easier	115	(8)
E-mail: To Send or Not to Send?	123	(14)
Memo, Letter, and Report Guidelines	137	(22)
Instructions, Presentations, Proposals, and Resumes	159	(20)
Appendix A: Business Letter Models	179	(32)
Appendix B: Guidelines to Punctuation	211	(6)
Appendix C: Grammar and Usage Review	217	(8)
Appendix D: Often-Confused Words	225	(10)
Appendix E: The Correct Use of Prepositions That Follow Certain Words	235	(2)
Appendix F: Capitalization	237	(2)
Appendix G: Plural Nouns	239	(4)
Appendix H: Compound Nouns/Words	243	(2)
Writing Aerobics: Review Exercises to Test Yourself	245	(6)
Index	251	(5)
About the Author	256