Guest Author | FreshGigs.ca - Part 12

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How to Sharpen Your Business Writing

My first post contained 10 tips for improving your annual report. Those tips were universal. You could easily use them for brochures, business plans, newsletters or websites. So this post is the first in a series that will expand on my original list.

Let’s get started with the importance of writing for your audience.

Business writing has been called dull or bull. Or, worse, both. Even good speakers and storytellers have difficulty writing. Words like synergy, utilize and paradigm somehow sneak onto the page. The engaging style of conversation that we enjoy in our personal encounters is often killed by a keyboard.

Usually a well-intentioned and informed writer simply fails to get the message across to an intelligent, interested reader. So it’s not for lack of trying on the part of the writer. If you want to sharpen your writing and kill the bull, here’s what I suggest that you try.

Writing like a person, not a corporation

Effective corporate writing delivers business and financial information in an easy-to-understand style. It aims for reader comprehension and resists the temptation to sound important or sophisticated. It simplifies and never complicates.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway suggests that having a specific person in mind can help to personalize your writing. When Buffett writes the annual report for Berkshire Hathaway, for example, he pretends that he’s talking to his sisters.

“I have no trouble picturing them,” says Buffett. “Though highly intelligent, they are not experts in accounting or finance. They will understand plain English, but jargon may puzzle them. My goal is simply to give them the information I would wish them to supply me if our positions were reversed. To succeed, I don’t need to be Shakespeare; I must, though, have a sincere desire to inform.”

The natural sounding copy that Buffett recommends is, however, among the hardest to write. It takes time and practice to sound natural.

Finding your own voice

Natural sounding writing is sometimes referred to as plain English, or plain language. Used in a business document, plain language enables your audience to read, understand and act on something the first time they read it. That saves time and money.

So how, exactly, do you write in plain language? Here are a few ideas for sounding more like a person and less like a corporation:

  • – Think before you start writing. Make a note of the points you want to make in a logical order.
  • – Use short words. Long words will not impress your audience or help your writing style.
  • – Use everyday words. Avoid jargon and legalistic words, and explain any technical terms you have to use.
  • – Keep your sentences short. Aim for an average of 15 to 20 words. Try to stick to one main idea in a sentence.
  • – Use active verbs. Say ‘we will do it’ rather than ‘it will be done by us’.
  • – Imagine you are talking to your reader. Write sincerely, personally, in a style that is suitable and with the right tone of voice.
  • – Ditch the acronyms. Acronyms and other abbreviations might work with an internal audience. But unless the term is immediately identifiable, like CEO, they will slow down or confuse your readers. Especially those who are unfamiliar with your company.

Effective corporate writing is never boring. It makes a point and gets off it. It recognizes that readers have a limited attention span. Few readers will plow through page after page of poorly written, rambling prose. Indeed, you could easily reduce the length of many business reports by half and reader comprehension would soar two- or threefold.

Lastly, one sure way to find your own writing voice is to listen to it. So tape yourself reading what you have written. Or simply read it aloud. You’ll quickly discover if you sound like a real person, a stuffed shirt or a corporation.

Richard Ketchen helps companies get the right message out to stakeholders. An accountant by training but a writer at heart, Richard has worked with leading companies across North America to develop strategies and craft messages for annual reports, websites and other stakeholder communication. His articles and expertise have been featured in BusinessWeek Online, TreasuryPoint.com, SmallCapCenter.com and many other popular publications. You can contact Richard through his website http://richardketchen.com/

7 Lessons from my Business Partner

Marc hangs out on LinkedIn a lot – he’s a recruiter after all.

But when I got an email from him saying he needed a technical writer, I told him I was already employed, working for myself as a marketing and communications consultant. Instead of just ending the conversation, I offered to help him find someone.

Lesson 1: Don’t end conversations too abruptly even if you’re not interested.
He was very appreciative and after a few email exchanges he was even more interested in what I was doing: consulting. So we met for coffee.

Lesson 2: Take it offline.
He was actually looking to learn about new marketing strategies for his own business and I offered to send him a proposal for my consulting services. He agreed.

Lesson 3: Finding someone at the right time to fill a need is important to drive sales.
And throughout the weeks ahead, I think we both taught each other a few things about business.

Marc taught me how to articulate value and define specific outcomes when selling services, and he learned about many of the social media tools beyond LinkedIn.

Lesson 4: The more specific you are, the easier it is to gain trust with a prospect because they understand your services.
Since I was teaching college students about the job searching process, I invited Marc to speak to my classes as a guest. I think that it is when we really started to cement our relationship.

Lesson 5: Be willing to speak at no charge to share your expertise.
If Marc didn’t do these presentations, we wouldn’t have recognized our complementary skill set.

We stayed in touch and realized that we enjoyed going to the same events and shared the same interests in Social Media. We decided to co-teach an advanced LinkedIn workshop for business owners just to see what it would be like.

Lesson 6: Start small to see if things work out.
Well – not only did we book another private corporate session after the success of that public workshop – we decided to become business partners. This process was almost assumed without fanfare – just “a given” between two very business-focused people. I only told him this morning that this was going to be like a marriage. He said it’s wasn’t a problem – we both have one of those as a back-up plan too!

Lesson 7: Communication is key!

Susan Varty and Marc Roginsky are co-founders of Social Tactics, a social media training firm that helps you to cut through the noise to help you engage with your target market. You can reach Sue at info@socialtactics.ca

Glossophobia, It’s Not Contagious: Fear of Public Speaking

Many executives tell me that they are afraid of public speaking. Perhaps you suffer from this affliction too and identify with the terror taking the stage brings.

The fear originates from standing alone in the spotlight. When we stand alone we are vulnerable and the fight or flight response rears its head.This is a natural human response originating to caveman days.

How do we become confident speakers who can powerfully articulate our ideas and services? And create an atmosphere where the audience will spread our ideas or buy our products?

Positive Visualization
In your mind’s eye see yourself walking confidently on the stage, beaming with enthusiasm, and owning your piece of stage real estate. See the audience clapping as
you enter and hear your powerful words. Listen to the audience clapping when you exit the stage. Leave with the same confidence you arrived with.

Know of What You Speak
When you have completed your script, practice it a few times. Now strip it down to key notes. Continue to practice from only your notes. When you have it down, hide your notes.

Practice and Practice Some More
Let the world hear your words. In the shower practice the arm motions that accentuate your points. Stand in front of the mirror and check out your facial expressions while you tell yourself that you can charm the pants from your audience.

~

Though we have the caveman dilemma of self preservation haunting us, we logically know that in today’s world we don’t need it. By seeing yourself as a confident speaker, knowing your presentation cold, and practicing until you can’t stand to listen to yourself anymore, you will overcome the fear of public speaking.

Here’s the but…you have to take the first leap and believe you can.

Janice Tomich is the Principal and founder of Calculated Presentations based in Vancouver, BC. When it comes to strategic presentations of all sorts Janice is the pro to go to. Connect with Janice on LinkedIn or at www.JaniceTomich.com

Business Without a Smart Phone

There are three things you should know about me before reading this. My primary business offering is written content (I write and manage other writers). Also, I have a cellphone (LG with Telus) and an iPod Touch. I also teach college students every week and offer social media workshops with a business partner. Yes. You read correctly – social media workshops.

This makes for a busy life, but I’ve managed to avoid expensive and restrictive (Canadian) data plans since I started in 2006. Here are four strategies you can adopt as well:

1. Turn off the TV (or have kids)
Okay, maybe what’s in brackets is not exactly a productivity tip, but ever since I turned off the television to save the children from melting their brain cells, I’ve been more productive at home. Although I enjoy the specific show now and then, most of the time I can’t watch what I want to (even on the computer). As a result, I’ve become a power multi-tasker using the wireless and doing projects while they are working on crafts and playing with toys around me. I still interact with them and take breaks frequently. I find that if I’m at the kitchen table with them, they are just happy to play beside me. Of course, this may not be realistic for your situation – but if you can turn off the TV for 30 minutes and work on another project instead, you’ll be surprised at how much you can actually accomplish.

2. Meet people at free wireless cafes or other free wireless locations.
Many places now offer free wireless when you visit and although this does not seem like much of a tip because it’s a second home to many, the key is to meet people. Instead of just doing an offline lunch at an offline restaurant, you get the benefit of three segments of business-focused time: while you wait for someone you need to meet arrive, networking or doing business while they are there, and then time to work after they have gone. Unlike a formal lunch meeting, you can connect with them online right after you’ve met them so you don’t have to do that extra step later. If they are expecting you to walk out with them – just say you need to make a phone call and/or finish up some project work. Stand up, shake their hand and wish them well before they go.

3. Plan your online/offline time.
If I’m at a conference, I usually can’t access a wireless connection for free. I put my email out of office on before I leave for the day and let people know that I will email them back after 3pm. I do not say why I’m not around or where I’m going. Then I email them back after 3pm. I use this quite a bit when I have a lot of marking to do. I always include my cell number in case it is urgent. This way, my clients know that they can still get a hold of me. Many issues are important but they are not URGENT.

4. Stay out of the “back channel” conversations (until later).
Although it’s really cool to tweet at an event and see your comments on the giant Twitterfall projection screen, you may get more out of the presentation if you stay focused. You can always search the hashtag when you get home and connect into the conversation and follow others attending the event. It’s hard to use this tip if you use Twitter like a text messaging service, but it works for me – especially if the conference is two days. This tip will also help you avoid knee-jerk reaction comments that you normally have time to reflect upon before pressing the Tweet button and having it up on a big screen. Sometimes the more thoughtful the tweet, and the less tweeting you do overall, has a bigger impact on your followers.

Susan Varty of Wordtree Consulting has been providing writing services, digital strategy, and technology advice to small businesses and corporate clients since 2006. Managing a team of writers, she uses social media as the primary way to market her business. As a result, she offers LinkedIn strategy workshops with her business partner Marc Roginsky. Susan is also a professor of English and Liberal Studies at Seneca College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Professionals Create Their Sizzle

As a professional in your chosen field, you have no doubt proven your competencies many times over. Your experience and track record proves that you are the ‘beef’. Lets add some extra sizzle to let you reach the heights you are destined for. Join me bi-weekly to carve out your edge to success.

Knowing Your Place
Whether you are a manager creating your dream team or an entrepreneur serious about the development of your business, you need to understand the strength and limitations of yourself and your employees to advance in your endeavours. There are four key positions a business or project requires for a successful outcome.

Take a look at the following personality types to see which best describes your natural characteristics.

The Awakener – A person with tons of ideas and endless vision, very enthusiastic and positive with high levels of energy, extremely entrepreneurial

The Increaser – A person who takes the ideas and analyses their viability and possible ways to put them into action. High critical thinking

The Container – Balanced and consistent with an endless capacity of taking in, overseeing and monitoring all business aspects, very even keel, possible CEO type

The Completer – Grounded individual with a ‘get it done’ attitude, highly detail orientated

Looking at the profile of each description you can easily get clear on your own area of strength and in turn identify where your competency gaps are. The Entrepreneur can fill the void by finding strategic Alliance Partners whilst the Manager can recruit to suit.

Knowing where you fit is a great start for recruiting the missing attributes in your business.

A highly skilled and experienced international Business Adviser with key competencies in Sales & Marketing Strategy, Conny Millard specialises in working with savvy female entrepreneurs in Canada, US and Europe. For further information please contact her directly at cmillard@mcgbusiness.com or visit www.mcgbusiness.com.

Your prospects are looking for you on YouTube

Have you seen the latest cute kitten video on YouTube? Or that new kid with the amazing voice who’s sure to be the next singing sensation? As much as YouTube is a great site for entertainment, it’s also an excellent resource for you to get your business found and stand out from your competition.

YouTube is now the second largest search engine on the internet. Yes, it is a search engine – the world is embracing online video like never before and using it to learn, research, and shop. If you aren’t on YouTube, then you’ve just removed yourself from a large share of the market who may be looking for you.

So do you need to go out and pay a video production company thousands of dollars to make some snazzy looking videos? Nope. The beauty of YouTube videos in comparison to TV commercials, is that they’re generally not expected to be high quality productions. A simple camcorder or digital camera with video capabilities, or even a webcam, can be good enough for your online videos. Use the editing program that’s built in to your computer (Windows Movie Maker or iMovie) to clean it up and add some text can add all the pizzaz you need to be effective.

Add videos of yourself sharing tips about your industry, demonstrating a product or service, or giving advice. The sky’s the limit with what you can talk about on video, and it can go a long way in helping you stand out as an expert in your field. The more videos you upload to YouTube, the more often they’re likely to be found – just ensure that each one has a relevant (and catchy) title, that you put a link to your website in the description field along with all of the text you can think of to explain what’s in the video (a transcript of what you say in the video is a great option), and add some relative keywords to the tags section to help people find your videos when they’re searching for related subjects.

Just remember that you don’t have to come up with the next viral video sensation to make use of YouTube with your business. It simply provides a chance for people to see and hear you, get a sense of your industry knowledge, and make a connection. They’re on YouTube searching for your products and services – so make sure they can find you!

Josh Rimer is a YouTube Partner and Internet Marketer specializing in YouTube Marketing & Optimization. Get daily tips and tricks on his blog at www.JoshRimer.com and sign up for his newsletter to receive a free eBook about ways to get more views on YouTube.

10 ideas for improving your next annual report

It won’t be long before you’ll be in the throes of producing your next annual report. Before you begin, here are 10 things you should keep in mind to make the most of this important investor relations tool.

1. Write for your audience
Don’t assume that investors and other stakeholders are familiar with your company or your industry. Be sure to define unfamiliar terms. And write for the first-time reader.

2. Take things one step at a time
Like it or not, most people who read your report do so with preconceived ideas of your company formed from other sources of information. First impressions are difficult to change. So don’t think you can change your company’s image with a single report.

3. Get PR out of your AR
Annual reports serve many purposes. Done right, they do a good job at all of them. But to be truly effective, your report needs to be forthright about your company’s performance and must reflect a high degree of integrity.

4. Write for skimmers and scanners
Corporate report readers don’t exactly hang on every word. Reports are usually skimmed and scanned. Use graphic tools and a writing style that allows readers to extract key messages quickly.

5. Repeat and vary. Vary and repeat
Repetition with variation is a classic communications tool. You enhance the comprehension of key themes by emphasizing them throughout your report in diversely worded ways.

6. Satisfy your readers
Reader satisfaction with your report is tied to comprehension. So strike a balance between the seasoned, informed reader and the rank novice.

7. Keep it simple
To reach your audience, you need to make your report easy to read. That, more often than not, means keeping the design, copy and graphics simple.

8. Provide a 360-degree view
Yes, your annual report is intended to report on past results. But most readers care more about your company’s plans for the future. So give them an overview of your vision and strategies.

9. Set the right tone
A corporate report is a reflection of management’s judgement. The tone, look and feel of your report, therefore, needs to be carefully crafted to accurately capture management’s attitude and mindset.

10. Get a second opinion
Writers have a tendency to fall in love with their work. But this is a risky romance that can lead to even basic errors being overlooked. Hire an editor or give your work to a dispassionate third-party (that excludes family members) who will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.

Whether you publish your annual report online or in print, it remains an important stakeholder communication tool. Companies that take stakeholder reporting seriously already understand that effective communication is a sign of good leadership and a means of building trust. What are you doing to show reporting leadership in your company?

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Richard Ketchen is a freelance financial writer and communication specialist. He draws on more than 20 years of experience to help clients produce sharper, clearer, simpler communication for stakeholders. Richard can be reached through his website, http://richardketchen.com.