What Good Business Writing Looks Like
The five qualities readers expect, shown through before-and-after examples.
8 min
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Writing that gets things done
At work, you write so that someone can understand something and act on it. A customer needs to know when their order will arrive. A manager needs to approve a request. A colleague needs to follow a procedure safely. If the reader has to guess, ask again or read twice, the writing has not done its job.
Good business writing is not about long words or a formal style. It is about the reader. Most organisations describe good writing with five qualities.
The five qualities
Example 1: a delivery update
"With reference to your recent order, please be advised that owing to unforeseen circumstances in our supply chain there may potentially be some delay in the dispatch of certain items."
Example 2: a request to a colleague
"Hi, can you look at the numbers when you get a chance?"
Match the problem to the missing quality
- The wrong date is given for a meeting
- The message does not say when a reply is needed
- A three-line idea takes three paragraphs
- The tone sounds rude and impatient
Which message is the most complete?