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 | Feb 5, 2024 | Business Writing Skills
Updated February 2024. Professional business writing tips should include “be wary of trends” because every few years it seems we have some kind of odd language trend that dumbs down our communications. In the recent past, we’ve experienced the persistent “you know” inserted into almost every sentence and now we have the annoying “no worries” that’s currently used in place of “you’re welcome.” Sometimes these phrasings are used in verbal speech only, and are not crossing over into business writing, so that’s a relief. I can’t see any...
by Sharon Ernst | Jan 24, 2024 | Business Writing Skills
Originally published November 2017, Updated January 2024 When I tell people I’ve started BetterFasterWriter.com, they all nod knowingly, because they either work with poor writers or they sense their own writing could use improvement. How about you? Are you nodding along, knowing that poor writing is pandemic in today’s business world? Do you see the same lack of effective business writing skills that I see? Putting up with poor writing is annoying, but there’s a longer term negative impact that results: loss of credibility, for the...
by Sharon Ernst | Nov 30, 2022 | Business Writing Skills
We waste too much time writing and reading confusing communications at work. The four Rs can save us from ourselves. Once upon a time, we referred to the three Rs that kids learned in school: reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic. Today as adults in the 21st century who write at work, we need to focus on the four Rs: Re-read Remove Replace Rewrite And we need to starting now. Because time’s a wastin’ and we have better things to do. Why You Need the Four Rs As I’ve written about elsewhere, we are wasting $400 billion every single year...
by Sharon Ernst | Jun 30, 2021 | Business Writing Skills
(Pssst: Scroll down for an adorable picture of my horse and puppy!) I had an epiphany while hauling a horse to a clinic the other day: I realized it’s not helpful to tell people to slow down to be better writers. Why not? Because I can’t expect people to slow down just one single part of their lives without looking at the bigger picture of a whole life lived in a hurry. I can’t expect people to slow down just one single part of their lives without looking at the bigger picture of a whole life lived in a hurry. We’re doing everything...
