Write Better and Get Ahead At Work. Michael Dolan

      1. How This Book Makes You a Better Writer

      The Introductory Essay

      Being the author’s description of how the basic ideas and exercises of the book fit together, punctuated with snappy remarks and colorful metaphors, opening with a scene from a typical day at work

      Terry Johnson comes to work in the morning with a pretty good idea of what she has to do. She has an electronic calendar to keep her schedule. She knows what to do next on her main project. And she is working on a new idea to pitch to her boss.

      One reason she has progressed this far in her career is that she plans it, thinking about what has to happen and why. Instead of simply rushing forward with no idea of where she is going, she sets goals. She does not always get exactly what she wants, but she knows how to adjust her goals to changing situations.

      When Terry sits down to the keyboard, however, she waits. She waits for the ideas to come, for the words to “flow.” After a while she writes down a few sentences. Even though they do not seem right, she finds nothing wrong with the grammar or punctuation. She continues writing, still waiting for that certain click to indicate the writing is “good.” At the end of the third run through on her draft, she decides to stop writing, more because she has to get on with it than because she thinks the message is clear.

      Terry is uncomfortable because she doesn’t know if her memo will have any impact. She wonders if a reader will finish it. She does not want her memo, so important for the completion of her current project, to be treated the way she treats most of the memos sent to her: set them aside for later.

      More Joyful Writing

      Terry’s discomfort is shared by people all over the country, in offices, on assembly lines, at sales desks. Maybe you share it. Or you feel a similar discomfort when you write at work.

      Usually the people who worry about their business writing have a good reason. If it is unclear to the writer, it cannot possibly be clear to the reader. Most people, faced with anxiety over their writing, fall back on grammar and punctuation checks. They recall a vague writing tip or two to see if they apply. Sometimes they consult lists of “words not to use” and “words to use.” Or they once again read their favorite novelist or magazine writer to see how published writers do it.

      These common responses, however, do not solve the problem of Terry’s sense of discomfort because they do not focus on the real problem. Writing is not something people do on paper. It is much more. It is observing. It is talking over ideas with others. It is defining yourself. It is expressing. Only one stage of writing gets done at the keyboard or on the memo pad. People who sit down to write without doing the necessary preparation or without knowing what happens after they send off their document will always experience the discomfort Terry feels.

      It does not have to be that way.

      My Challenge to You: Everything You Think about Writing is Wrong

      This book can change the way you write and therefore improve what you can do at work. Survey after survey shows that executives value writing but see little writing of value at work.

      Writing is an important part of your job. I don’t care what your job is. Today, more than just office writers produce memos and reports. Almost all employees write on the job. A few years ago, a company asked me to provide writing training to people who work on the assembly line of a dental manufacturing plant. Manufacturing hard goods is the last place some people expect to be writing memos. That was once true but it is no more. All employees today write down what they are doing so that managers can stay on top of efficiencies. In addition, in today’s complex businesses and public agencies, people make decisions on paper. If you want to suggest an idea, you have to write it down or forget it. Expressing your ideas clearly on paper or on a screen is necessary so that people in various levels of your company can all evaluate the same thing. If it is not written down, it doesn’t exist. It’s a rumor.

      Work has changed. Writing has changed. That is why I make this challenge to you. Everything you think about writing is wrong. Like Terry, who struggled at the opening of this chapter, maybe you remember a few tips or ideas. Maybe you retain several ideas from grade school. Perhaps you did all right with term papers in college. Maybe you have read other writing books.

      I put this statement in your face: prove it! Prove all of it. Begin again by throwing out everything. Examine every assumption, rule, tip, concept or notion you have about writing. In these pages, I will show you a way to write that has worked for hundreds of people who have successfully completed the Write at Work seminars. The ideas and exercises I give you form the basis of how you can start all over again.

      Does that mean I have control and you don’t? No, just the opposite. The ideas in this book must work for you, or they don’t work. Examine each one, understand it, practice it. Then if you find you don’t like it, throw it away. Fine with me. Just replace it with a better idea.

      You may find that some of the ideas I challenge may work. Okay, keep them if you can prove they work. The single biggest impediment I see for people who want to improve their writing is that they cling to outdated notions about writing. They hold themselves back by feeling that somehow they are not following a rule they learned ten or twenty years ago. Don’t do that. Take control. Master the ideas in this book. Add back your original assumptions if you meet my challenge and prove they are worthwhile. At the end you will have rebuilt yourself into an effective writer—your way. One thing that will happen for you as you read this book is that you will see things you are doing right. This book is not about finding what is wrong with people’s writing and taking potshots at them. It is about building a better way and feeling comfortable and confident every time you begin to write.

      Throughout this book there are exercises for you to do. Many come at the end of chapters. You may believe that you don’t need such exercises, and I am sure I cannot change your mind so I won’t try. But there are what I call six “core exercises” especially designed to help you identify and master your own individual writing style. These exercises come in the main text of the book and at the end of chapters. I highly recommend that you actually write them out.

      The core exercises are:

      1.Freewriting

      2.The unlocked door

      3.Focused Freewriting

      4.A return letter to say “no” and

      5.Perception

      6.Writing a brief report based on a newspaper.

      If you take my challenge and complete these exercises, you will improve—no