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 | Feb 17, 2025 | Business Writing Class
I finally published the basic business writing course this weekend. Whew!! You have no idea what a relief it was to finally get that done! It takes me a long time to get these online classes pulled together. And there’s always the doubt that they are as helpful as I want them to be. Are you wondering why I even went to all the work to make this class happen? Yes, me too, if I’m honest. But I have a strong desire to share basic tips and advice to help people improve their writing at work. The work behind the classes Every online...
by Sharon Ernst | Nov 25, 2024 | Business Writing Skills
Why are we so short on business writing skills anyway? Mark Twain supposedly said, “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” Obviously, he was being sarcastic because there’s a lot more to writing than crossing out the wrong words, right? But what? What are we missing? What do we not know? Well, it turns out there’s a lot we don’t know about writing…especially business writing. One study found 26.2% of employers think college graduates have deficient business writing skills—not weak but deficient. As for...
by Sharon Ernst | Jan 8, 2024 | Business Email Writing
How business email best practices can make everything better… I was soooo lucky and I didn’t know it. How? During my 20 years as a freelance copywriter, I worked primarily with smart people who communicated well and made smart use of email. That means I thought the average person was equally good at email. I was wrong. When I closed up We Know Words at the end of 2019 to focus on our farm and Better Faster Writer, I also started doing a lot of volunteer work as part of a marriage ministry that we had to take over. (That’s a...
by Sharon Ernst | Jun 13, 2023 | Business Writing Skills
I have a goal. It might sound morbid to you, this goal, but it is realistic. My goal? When I die, I don’t want any need for a garage sale. I am of an age that friends have parents who are dying, and those friends are stuck sorting through all kinds of what we’d call crap if we’re being honest. I don’t want anyone to have to go through that on my account. So, I am trying to slowly but surely make sure that I only live with things that can be recycled if not wanted (like books) or donated (like quality clothes, dishes and furniture)...
