Business Writing for Technical People : The most effective ways to get your message across

Cover
Copyright Page
CONTENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PREFACE
1 WHAT IS BUSINESS WRITING?
	WHY BAD WRITING IS BAD NEWS
2 LEARNING TO WRITE WITHOUT FEAR
	TAKE YOUR TIME
	BORROW BRIGHT IDEAS
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
3 THINK BEFORE YOU INK
	SELLING THE SIZZLE: AN IT EXAMPLE
	LIGHTS, EMAIL, ACTION!
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
4 CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS
	KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
	PICK YOUR PLATFORM
	HOPE FOR THE BEST AND PLAN FOR THE WORST
	TAKE A PICTURE
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
5 FIGHT THE FLAB
	UNNECESSARY EXPERTISE
	THE PASSIVE VOICE AND WEAK VERBS
	TOO MANY WORDS
	LONG SENTENCES AND ENDLESS PARAGRAPHS
	SHOWING OFF
	CLICHÉS
	WOOLLY WRITING
	TAKE ADVICE FROM GEORGE ORWELL
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
6 JUNK THE JARGON
	WHAT IS JARGON?
	BAD BUZZ
	WHY YOU SHOULD BANISH BUZZWORDS AND JUNK THE JARGON
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
7 MAKE YOUR CASE
	HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE
	WRITING PRESENTATIONS
	THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
	IT’S A SHAME ABOUT ROI
	HOW TO PRESENT YOUR BUSINESS CASE FOR A LARGE PROJECT
	ROI: PLAN FOR THE BEST BUT TRY TO PREDICT THE WORST
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
8 WRITING FOR ROBOTS: BUSINESS WRITING FOR THE INTERNET
	WRITING FOR GOOGLE
	SEO: HOW TO DO IT THE RIGHT WAY
	TL;DR
	WHAT TO DO ABOUT LONG DOCUMENTS
	WRITING FOR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS
	SOMEONE INVENTED A NEW WAY TO GET READERS; YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
9 BE YOUR OWN AUDIENCE
	LET GO OF YOUR EGO
	SIMPLICITY
	BREVITY
	ACCURACY
	EFFECTIVENESS
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
10 COMMUNICATING GOODWILL AND DELIVERING BAD NEWS
	GOODWILL HUNTING
	NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
11 WHAT TO DO WHEN THE WORDS WON’T COME
	HAVE A DEADLINE
	BREAK IT INTO BITS
	WRITE AN OUTLINE
	DON’T START AT THE START
	DON’T STOP
	FORGET ABOUT PERFECT
	HAVE A KITKAT
	GO AND DO SOMETHING ELSE
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
12 THE BUSINESS WRITING HOUSE OF HORRORS
	AVIVA ACCIDENTALLY FIRES ITS ENTIRE WORKFORCE
	ELOP NEEDS SOME HELOP
	PROOF THAT SPELL CHECKING MATTERS
	WHY DAMORE SHOULD HAVE WRITTEN LESS
	WHY JACK GOT ATTACKED
	WHEN HASHTAGS GO BAD
	THE WORST MOTIVATIONAL MEMO EVER
	KEY TAKEAWAYS
AFTERWORD
REFERENCES
INDEX
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