by Sharon Ernst | Nov 24, 2025 | Business Writing Skills
Published August 2024, updated November 2025–Word puking gets in the way of better business writing because it says nothing and wastes time. As the amount of information inundating us daily continues to increase and our ability to pay attention to it continues to decrease, it becomes ever more important to communicate well…if we want to communicate at all. Yet I continue to see countless examples of what I call word puking. What is word puking, you ask? Writing with lots of words but zero intention of actually communicating...
by Sharon Ernst | Apr 18, 2025 | Business Writing Skills
Originally published October 2019, Updated April 2025. Let’s talk about business writing essentials. Why? So we can avoid several common mistakes that get in the way of clear communication at work. How Business Writing Essentials Help You Avoid Common Mistakes Have you ever realized you’ve been making the same mistake over and over, unaware it was a mistake? I have. Growing up I had a friend who would say “for all intents and purposes.” I thought she kept saying “for all intensive purposes.” I didn’t know what it meant but she...
by Sharon Ernst | Apr 15, 2025 | Business Writing Skills
Originally published March 2020, Updated April 2025 When writing in business, we are wasting a lot of time and money, at least from where I sit. And the more examples of writing I see, the more I believe no one bothered to teach most of us three critical things about writing in business. What are the three business writing essentials you need to know? You must write for the audience You should know the writing process Details matter I don’t need to keep telling you business writing skills have spiraled downward in this country. You...
by Sharon Ernst | Mar 1, 2025 | Business Writing Skills
(originally published 2019, updated 2025) Do you think you’re a mediocre or even a bad writer? That mindset is probably working against you. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy because you might not try to improve thinking there’s no point. And that attitude hurts you at work because you don’t try to improve. I’ve been pondering this mainstream attitude that so many people seem to have, thinking they are bad writers. I think they’re wrong. And I’m about to dispel that myth for you, because I want you to recognize that you’re not a...
by Sharon Ernst | Feb 28, 2025 | Business Writing Skills
Originally published February 2018. Updated February 2025. If I’m going to build a business on the idea that business writing skills have deteriorated and people need to be better, faster writers at work, then it behooves me to take a step backward and address the source of the problem. So let’s a take a look at three reasons why our writing skills are falling short of where they need to be in the work environment. One, we aren’t learning how to write well in school; two, our standards have been lowered; and three, we are all going...
by Sharon Ernst | Jan 7, 2025 | Business Writing Skills
(originally published 2019; updated for 2026) We’re going to talk about effective business writing, but let’s start with a more appealing topic first… Do you have an activity or interest that constantly challenges you to learn? Horses top my list. They challenge me to keep learning because they are also learning. Every time we master one thing, it simply moves us on to the next. Plus riding more than one horse means learning one thing in different ways. Even how they tackle the same obstacle (like the obstacle in...
