One of the things I love most about my work is asking people questions. Because, if I can understand it, then I can write about it, and the better I understand it, the more like my clients the documents I prepare for them will sound. Sometimes, my clients just let me loose to find information [...]
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Before we start talking about HOW to write a fantastic first draft, let’s talk about WHY you should do so. You should write a fantastic first draft because it will lead to a superb second draft, splendid subsequent drafts, and a fabulous final draft. A good first draft provides a solid foundation on which to [...]
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Tags: discovery process, fantastic first draft, first draft, inner critic, interviews, introduction, keywords, main message, outline, placeholders, preparation, research, writing style
We all know how important audience awareness is in writing. In business writing, your audience is typically clients, customers, and colleagues. Right? Yes and no. Yes, you must consider one or more of those audiences. But, no, it’s not that simple. Often there is a hidden audience to think about, and leaving them out of [...]
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Some topics are harder to research than others. For such topics, all the online research in the world does not lead to real-world understanding. In these situations, it is often helpful to work with a subject matter expert, or SME (pronounced “smee”) (aka your research secret weapon).
Let me give you an example. A few [...]
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The advice often given to writers is, “Write what you know.” In business writing, “what you know” may be in the form of personal experience, observation, or good, solid research. To perform the most effective research for business writing, your goal should be to learn enough to feel comfortable explaining the topic to someone else…which [...]
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