Posts Tagged: business writing

Crafting Kickass Presentations

Whether you’re launching a new product or pitching a fresh business idea, PowerPoint presentations can be an effective communication tool – if you use it well. We’ve all sat through lifeless presentations that simply bore our socks off. So, how can you deliver your message in a compelling way that not only educates and inspires, but sells?

Start by focusing on the benefits of your product or service. Rather than highlighting the boring mechanics of how it works, focus on what it’s going to do for the buyer. This helps to elicit desire.

Secondly, make the pitch. Whether you are selling an idea, a process, a tool or a product, make it clear, and make your case coherently and succinctly. Using images with a few key points per slide, or testimonials, if you have, can greatly help your presentation.

Lastly, spur action. At the end of your presentation, summarise what you’ve said and make a call to action. Simply put, it means engaging your audience to “buy now”, sign a contract or put their name on an email list, among others.

Keep these copywriting pointers in mind to craft awesome presentations.

 

Reference: https://www.copyblogger.com/persuasive-presentations/

https://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/use-copywriting-principles-for-your-presentations/

 

Image source: https://fortresslearning.com.au/eleven-tricks-for-effective-powerpoint-presentations/

Shaping Up For Sustainability Reporting

Sustainability has emerged as the new corporate buzzword these days in light of the devastating impact of climate change. Beyond looking at a company’s profitability, investors nowadays are increasingly making hard-nosed decisions based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. That is, what companies are doing to foster sustainability. From the United States to Europe, and Hong Kong to Singapore, several bourses around the world have implemented sustainability reporting.

For publicly-listed firms in these markets, prepping for sustainability reports can definitely be a bit of a hassle. But rather than viewing these reports as a purely compliance issue, well-crafted sustainability reports offer companies numerous advantages. They not only showcase your firm’s initiatives in the environmental and social sphere, but also offer a platform for securing trust with stakeholders, helping to build your firm’s reputation and offering a competitive advantage in terms of attracting investment and entering new markets. Using the right words can make the difference between a sustainability report that sits in a drawer or one that opens up dialogue with stakeholders and demonstrates leadership, openness and accountability.

 

Reference: https://www.gov.sg/news/content/today-online—sustainability-reporting-for-all-listed-companies-mandatory-from-fy2017

Sustainability reporting in Singapore…ready or not, it is here!

Image source: https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/sustainability

Hitting the Mark with Tighter Writing

Writing in a bold, direct way can help you to communicate and ultimately persuade more effectively. Whether it’s an Electronic Direct Mailer, marketing collateral, press release or website content, tightening up your writing can help your company get noticed and stand out from the crowd.

With readers’ short attention spans in today’s information-rich world, what you write has to compete for attention from social media and other digital platforms. How can you compete better with more effective writing? Read on to find out.

Write shorter

Readers are impatient nowadays. Cut out unnecessary detail and repetition. Writing concisely shows that you respect the reader’s time as more valuable than your own.

Move key insights up

If you don’t grab your readers’ attention quickly, they’ll probably move on to something else before you’ve even made your key points. So, front-load your key insights. This increases the chances that readers will stick around to see if you can prove it.

Replace jargon with clarity

When you’ve been in a particular industry for some time, you may unconsciously use technical jargon in your writing. While it may make sense to you as an insider, your layman readers may not be able to figure out what you mean. Explain what you mean in plain English. If you do need to use a technical term to make things clearer, define it first.

Cut out weasel words

What are weasel words? They are words that are intentionally ambiguous, such as “generally” and “most”, which make your writing sound weak. Deleting weasel words strengthens your writing, making it sound bolder and clearer.

Avoid passive writing

Using the passive voice can make your writing sound vague and uninteresting. In contrast, adopt an active voice to make it easier to understand. Introduce the subject first. For example, instead of saying “Colgate is recommended by Dentists”; rewrite as “Dentists recommend Colgate”.

Harnessing the power of these writing tips can help you to communicate more directly to your audience while making every word count.

 

Reference: https://withoutbullshit.com/blog/10-top-writing-tips-psychology

Image source: http://www.nikkielledgebrown.com/writing-concisely/

To double space or not

Were you taught in school to use two spaces after a full stop at the end of a sentence? Or maybe you picked up this habit when you learned to type using a typewriter. Well, it turns out that the correct usage is to leave only one space after a full stop.

In today’s age of modern communication, the two-spaces-after-a-period construction seems to be outmoded. So how did the two spaces rule come about anyway? Back in the day, during the typewriter age, monospace typing was used, where every letter took up the same amount of space. So the space for the skinny lowercase “i” was just as wide for a capital “W”. This not only created an awkward amount of white space between letters, but also made it difficult to ascertain where certain words started or ended. To ensure good readability, typists would add an additional space at the conclusion of a sentence.

But thankfully, computers are now able to write in “proportional fonts”, removing the need for double spaces. However, this rule remained etched in the minds of people who grew up during the typewriter era, so much so that they mistakenly thought it was the grammatically correct way to type.

Now that you know, happy punctuating!

Reference: https://melmagazine.com/for-the-love-of-god-stop-putting-two-spaces-after-a-period-acd45fe4673d

Image source: http://www.jshermanstudio.com/blog/page/11/

When what you see isn’t what you get…

When what you see isnt what you getHave you ever bought something because of an attractive advertisement, but the product failed to meet your expectations in real life? If so, you’re not alone, for false advertising claims are commonplace in today’s competitive corporate world.

Businesses may be tempted to push the boundaries of truth by making misleading claims in their advertisements, to try to get an edge over their competitors. But while this may yield short-term gains, this could backfire on them in the long run, leading to big time damage to their corporate reputation and massive settlement payments. For example, back in the early 2000s, two major Korean car makers overstated the horsepower in some of their vehicles by as much as 10%, leading to expensive settlement payouts of around US$75 million to US$125 million.

If you want your business to stand out from your competitors, there are definitely more effective and legitimate ways to draw customers. Why not try engaging a copywriter to craft compelling text to market your products and services? From crafting catchy slogans and attention-grabbing taglines to persuasive text, a copywriter can add a snazzy angle to your advertisement, helping you to influence your customers to take action. Start the new year on a right note, write right to get your message across in your commercials!

Reference:

http://www.businessinsider.com/false-advertising-scandals-2…#

Image source:

https://aubrepiercelackey.wordpress.com/…/ethics-and-false…/

So, You’ve Been Asked To Give A Speech…

Giving speechGiving a speech can be a nerve-racking experience. But with diligent preparation and careful thought in crafting out your speech, you can get a leg up on delivering a great speech. Want to know what it takes to write an effective speech? One that will not only grab your audiences’ attention, but also leave them on the edge of their seats? Let’s check it out.  

Craft a Memorable Opening

The start of your speech is when the audience is most receptive. So, seize that opportunity to create a memorable opening, as it helps to engage your listeners early. Tell a humorous anecdote that illustrates a key point in your speech. Share a shocking fact or statistic.

Focus on a Few Key Points 

Don’t try to put too many ideas into your speech. Research shows that people remember very little from speeches, so stick to just two or three takeaways that your audience can bring back at the end of the day.

Write Like You Talk

Remember, you’re writing a speech that people will hear, not an article for them to read. So adopting a conversational tone would make it easier for your audience to follow your speech. Use short sentences. It’s better to write two simple sentences than one long, complicated sentence. Also, avoid using big words. Keep the language simple, like how you would when talking to someone.  

Repeat Yourself

Have you ever sat through a speech, and somewhere along the way your mind starts to drift off? We’ve all been there. In speech-writing, repetition is one of the keys to leaving an impression. Drive home key words, phrases and themes. Always look to tie back and reinforce earlier points in your speech. Repeating critical points can help your audience to remember key ideas.

End Strong 

The fact is, the concluding portion of your speech is what your audience will remember as they leave the room. So recap your biggest takeaway. Tie everything together. Share a success story. Make a call to action. End with a memorable quote.

So, keep these tips in mind when preparing for your next speech, and leave your audience spellbound.  

What Copywriters Can Do for You

What is copywriting and what exactly do copywriters do? It is hard to come up with a specific or accurate description of that.  But simply put, the copywriters’ job is to work with words.

The key things copywriters do:

* Research
* Interview
* Write
* Edit
* Proofread
* Source images/visuals
* Plan and carry out marketing campaigns

Copywriters talk to their clients’ customers. They channel their clients’ agenda into words. It could be the promotion of a product or service or to educate and demonstrate experience and expertise.

While nobody ever sees the name of the copywriters, they are the ones who work behind the scenes to promote the image of their clients. This means that copywriters have to be versatile and adaptable to changes whenever the clients require them to.

Copywriters add value to a company in various ways which include writing blog posts, social media posts, case studies, industry reports. The list is not limited but as long as there are words involved and they create value, it is pretty much what copywriters do.

Finding that corporate voice and making it heard gives a company its brand. By engaging copywriters, they can help to boost a company’s image and reach out to their target customers and beyond.

Writing a Good Report

Report-writing is a skill that many people tend to overlook. It is part of communication skills at work especially when many occasions require the presentation of facts and data effectively. Remembering some of the following points will help you in writing a good report without too much pain.

Know your audience and purpose

You need to address your reader by providing the relevant information required. It is no point writing a report, however long or well-researched, if it does not give the answers your reader wants. This is where you need to have clear objectives as to why you are writing the report and ensure that you deliver on that.

Write briefly to communicate your ideas

Consider using bullet points, charts and graphs to present your information. They can quickly and effectively present details to your reader. However, remember to label your diagrams and give suitable headings or sections or what you are presenting may not make sense to the reader.

 Be objective and factual

You do not have to dazzle your reader with technical jargon or fanciful vocabulary. Instead, be objective, succinct, avoid emotions and most importantly, be factual.

Consider the undertones in each of the following sentences:

Subjective and emotive writing: “The factory staff are such slackers that they do not deserve their jobs.”
→ This sounds like there is anger and animosity between the writer and the factory staff.

Objective and unbiased writing: “The staff at the operational level who did not meet their goals were willing to negotiate and make changes.”
→ This sentence does not place any judgement on the staff and even suggests that they are keen to improve.

Allow facts to inform and persuade, not loaded words that may be partial to situations.

Ask for help

Unless the subject matter of the report is highly confidential, asking for help will make the task of producing a report less painful. You may want to consider asking a co-worker to review your draft and ask him/her for opinions: Is the writing clear? Are you able to identify two or three important points? (Note: These points have to be the same as yours or else it means that your report is not clear.)

Writing a good report can be challenging but by ensuring that you are clear about what it needs to convey, you should be able to produce a decent piece that will, hopefully, deliver your ideas and persuade your reader.