How to Edit Written Business Communication Effectively in 5 Steps
Whenever you write a document, it is always good to let sit for a little while before you push the send or print button.
For a rule of thumb is, the longer you can wait between finishing writing and the editing, the better. It gives your mind time to digest and rest so when you come back to edit, you are looking at the document with fresh eyes.
Here are five easy to follow steps to help you in the editing process:
- Read the document through from top to bottom and just get an overall big picture. If it is fairly clear what the message you are trying to convey is? Does this concept pop out? A good check is to take another person read the document and as them to tell you in one sentence what it is about. If there is a disconnect between what they read and what your main message is, you need to rewrite or reorganize it so that your message is clear.
- Go through and read the document one paragraph at a time. Each paragraph should have its own clear thought and message to it. Do not put too much different information into each paragraph. Break it up. More paragraphs are better. It is easier for the reader to digest what each piece is all about.
- Read the first sentence of each paragraph. It should be fairly clear in terms of what that paragraph is going to be about.
- Read the document out loud. When you are reading out loud, you can sometimes hear clumsy writing as opposed to just seeing it on paper.
- Read the document one last time with a ruler, line by line, from the bottom up. By reading it “out of order” your mind won’t automatically add words or letters that aren’t really there.
Hopefully, these will be some simple steps that can certainly help to refine your documents and all of your business writings for the future.
Be Free!
Ken Budka
Training Coordinator
There are a lot of good opinions here. Really gives me a new way of looking at things.
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Comment by Software — October 25, 2009 @ 8:23 am