How effective writing boosts productivity

EFFECTIVE writing remains an essential skill in the workplace. This is why managers, supervisors, employees and other professionals wish to improve their writing, and communicate more clearly and concisely. Having this skill improves productivity in two ways: first, less time spent figuring out what the sender wants to say, and second, less internal miscommunication.

When Inquirer Academy held the first run of the Effective Writing Workshop last Feb. 11-12, many participants from various industries attended, confirming the need for a review and upgrade of their writing skills.   The following are some of the questions that the participants asked. Our facilitator, Ruel S De Vera, shares his insights:

Q: What are the most common writing errors committed by Filipinos and how do you avoid them?

We make four very common errors: subject-verb agreement, gender-benders, proper prepositional phrases, and wrong usage of words, mostly due to Filipinisms, or English words we use differently. There is no single way to avoid them. All require a degree of familiarization, particularly with prepositions as there is no general rule. But all can be mitigated with careful, conscious writing. You must write with purpose and with awareness when it comes to the usage of words—as well as the correct versions—and the structures of your sentences.

Q: What is the general rule when it comes to office communication such as memoranda, reports and e-mails?

The core of all business communication is formality and clarity. Whether memos, reports or e-mails, they must all be completely formal—they are meant for a wide range of recipients—and must contain no ambiguity or ambivalence. They need to be short and to the point. The idea is to present your point as efficiently as possible, because everyone in the workplace is assumed to be busy and reading memos and the like take away from their productivity. Finally, all workplace e-mails need to be consciously serious as most e-mails have a naturally casual air to them.

Q: How does one become a good writer? Does it simply take talent?

Talent is only one part of the equation. Productivity is a much underrated part of this. Good writers not only write good pieces, but they are also able to produce good pieces on a regular basis. To help this along, aspiring writers need to read as much good writing as they can. Then, they need to write as much as they can, learning along the way from feedback and self-teaching. It sounds like a cliche, but aspiring writers need to want to be good, and take the time and effort to get better.

Ruel S. De Vera is an author and editor of various books, and is a Desk Editor for the Philippine Daily Inquirer Lifestyle section. Aside from the Carlos Palanca Award for Literature, he also has a Catholic Mass Media Award and Philippines Free Press Literary Award.

Ruel will facilitate a workshop titled “Effective Writing: The Basics Reviewed” on April 7-8, 2016.

It will be held at the Inquirer Academy Building, Chino Roces Avenue corner Ponte Street, Makati City.

The workshop is designed for professionals and entrepreneurs to help them write more clearly and concisely.

The workshop is brought to you by Inquirer Academy. For details about the workshop, you may write to [email protected] or call (632) 834-1557/ 871-9256. Look for Astrud de Castro. You can also register through www.inquireracademy.com.