Use Online Communications Effectively
The online world may be fast-paced, but many of the advanced users are taking the time as writers to sharpen every nuance of their communications… and many readers are acutely aware of those nuances, especially when someone makes a mistake! Your compositions and communications represent you and your business at all times; it may sound intimidating, but perfection is expected! Your emails, published articles, promotional materials, stationery, podcast dialogue, design mockups, legal documents, reports, proposals, help requests, and interoffice memos (virtually any form of communication) must be presentable and well-composed – and perhaps doubly reviewed and proofread before they are published or used – or your credibility and brand will suffer. Here are things to which you should pay particular attention:
- Spelling and grammar: Casual mangling of the English language has been tolerated over the years, and with good reason; in the past, it was hard to correct mistakes. Also, perfect diction and spelling used to be exclusively reserved to English teachers; the rest of us could always guess what you meant without snarking at the fine details of usage and accuracy. This, however, no longer applies in the age of the word processor. All work should be proofread to be grammatically correct and perfectly spelled. Fortunately, most everyone has access to a spell checker + grammar checker in Microsoft Word, and those who don’t can find free alternatives on the Internet.
- Capitalization: along with proper use according to English grammar, overuse of capitalization has an additional context in modern communications: shouting at the reader! UNLESS YOU WANT TO SHOUT AT THE PERSON READING YOUR COMPOSITION, it is best to be mindful of your use of the Caps Lock key.
- Brevity: as a sufferer of extra-fast-mouth syndrome, I can tell you that it can hurt to be long-winded. Keep your communication points brief and your details spare whenever possible.
- One way you can improve the quality of your writing is to generously use images, photographs, and data charts to represent key points, saving awkwardly long explanations. Plus, it breaks up your work for the reader, making it easier to digest. Finally, some ideas are simply better expressed visually.
- Don’t forget the power of the Internet! Share links to information resources in your work to provide citations, cut down the length of your own explanations, or simply to provide a service to the reader.