Writing Concisely (Completed)

In this course, participants will learn how to use fewer words in their writing.

Readers are busy, and they are easily distracted. If a writer can convey the same information using fewer words, a reader will be more likely to read the message.

In theory, writing concisely is simple. Writers can make edits to their writing, such as choosing synonyms (e.g., replacing “utilize” with “use”) and deleting unnecessary words (e.g., writing “to” instead of “in order to”). However, not all of these techniques are effective in practice, because some of them will throw a reader off. In this course, we will carefully separate the useful techniques from the ones that are counterproductive.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to draft shorter emails and documentation, without compromising content. As a result, participants will capture the attention of readers — even if they are reading on a phone.

Who Should Attend
This course is intended for professionals whose readers are busy and want to quickly extract the key information.

Topics Covered

• Omitting unnecessary words
• Omitting unnecessary syllables
• Shortening verbose phrases
• Defaulting to the active voice, but knowing when the passive voice is more appropriate
• Balancing conciseness with readability
• Making tradeoffs between conciseness and clarity
• Knowing when conciseness is counterproductive
• Monitoring tone when writing concisely

Learning Objectives

• Understand how touse fewer words in your writing
• Understand how to replace longer words with shorter words that mean the same thing
• Understand how to write concisely without compromising clarity or completeness
• Know when deleting an “unnecessary” word harms readability more than it improves conciseness; and get to the point

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Group: Internet-based

NASBA Field of Study
Business Management & Organization (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None