WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: , TEXTING, AND OTHER WRITING TIPS By Doris England, CAP-OM Presented to: Roanoke Chapter APW Event April 15, 2014

ETIQUETTE Be informal, but not sloppy. Keep messages brief and to the point Use sentence case. Use the blind copy and courtesy copy appropriately.

ETIQUETTE Don’t use to avoid personal contact. Remember that isn’t private. Be sparing with group . Use the subject field to indicate content and purpose.

ETIQUETTE Don’t send chain letters or junk mail. Your tone cannot be heard in an . Use a signature that includes contact information. Summarize long discussions (replies).

TEXTING ETIQUETTE Be careful with abbreviations. Be aware of your perceived tone. Never send bad news via text.

TEXTING ETIQUETTE Don’t change meeting times or venues in a text. Always double check when using the voice-to- text feature.

8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING 1. KNOW WHY YOU’RE WRITING: Be clear about objectives. Address your audience appropriately. State the goals you want to achieve.

8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING 2. UNDERSTAND YOUR READERS: Get to the point quickly. Focus on what’s relevant. Use a tone that fits your audience.

8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING 3. WRITE YOUR FIRST DRAFT IN 4 PARTS: Madman – Research Architect – Organizes the material Carpenter – Writes first draft Judge – Edits and tightens

8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING 4.REVISE AND EDIT: Do I have a clear, concise opening? Have I said all I need to say? Have I proved my point with specifics? Have I avoided repetitions? Have I closed smoothly?

8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING 5.BE RELENTLESSLY CLEAR: Illustrate your points with specifics – SHOW – DON’T TELL 6.DON’T WASTE WORDS: Trim wordy passages Get rid of “filler words”

8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING 7.NEVER USE BUSINESS-SPEAK: Stay away from trite expressions, such as “mission-critical” or words like “enormity.” Avoid jargon that others might not understand. Watch the use of abbreviations such as APW, PDS, SOP, CEU, etc.

8 KEYS TO BETTER BUSINESS WRITING 8. RELAX AND FIND THE RIGHT TONE: Avoid stuffiness by using contractions. Vary the length and structure of your sentences. Use courtesies like “thank you” and “we appreciate.” Use personal pronouns instead of formal language.

OTHER WRITING TIPS Paragraph structure - The topic of a paragraph is stated in one sentence. This is called the topic sentence. The rest of the paragraph consists of sentences that develop or explain the main idea. Every sentence in a paragraph should support the main idea expressed in the topic sentence.

CAPITALIZATION Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. He said, "Treat her as you would your own daughter." "Look out!" she screamed. "You almost ran into my child.“ Capitalize a proper noun. Golden Gate Bridge

CAPITALIZATION Capitalize a person’s title when it precedes the name. Do not capitalize when the title is acting as a description following the name. Chairperson Smith Ms. Smith, the chairperson of the company, will address us at noon. Capitalize the person's title when it follows the name on the address or signature line. Sincerely, Ms. Haines, Chairperson

CAPITALIZATION Capitalize the titles of high-ranking government officials when used before their names. Do not capitalize the civil title if it is used instead of the name. The president will address Congress. The speaker is Governor Terry McAuliffe.

CAPITALIZATION Capitalize any title when used as a direct address. Will you take my temperature, Doctor? Capitalize points of the compass only when they refer to specific regions. We have had three relatives visit from the South. Go south three blocks and then turn left.

CAPITALIZATION Always capitalize the first and last words of titles of publications regardless of their parts of speech. Capitalize other words within titles, including the short verb forms Is, Are, and Be. Exception: Do not capitalize little words within titles such as a, an, the, but, as, if, and, or, nor, or prepositions, regardless of their length. The Day of the Jackal What Color Is Your Parachute?

CAPITALIZATION Capitalize federal or state when used as part of an official agency name or in government documents where these terms represent an official name. If they are being used as general terms, you may use lowercase letters. The state has evidence to the contrary. That is a federal offense. The State Board of Equalization collects sales taxes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been subject to much scrutiny.

CAPITALIZATION You may capitalize words such as department, bureau, and office if you have prepared your text in the following way: Example: The Bureau of Land Management (Bureau) has some jurisdiction over Indian lands. The Bureau is finding its administrative role to be challenging.

CAPITALIZATION Do not capitalize names of seasons. Example: I love autumn colors and spring flowers. Capitalize the first word of a salutation and the first word of a complimentary close. Examples: Dear Ms. Mohamed: My dear Mr. Sanchez: Very truly yours,

CAPITALIZATION Capitalize words derived from proper nouns. Example: I must take English and math. English is capitalized because it comes from the proper noun England, but math does not come from Mathland. Capitalize the names of specific course titles. Example: I must take history and Algebra 2.

CAPITALIZATION After a sentence ending with a colon, do not capitalize the first word if it begins a list. Example: These are my favorite foods: chocolate cake, lobster, and artichokes. Do not capitalize when only one sentence follows a sentence ending with a colon. Example: I love Jane Smiley's writing: her book, A Thousand Acres, was beautiful.

CAPITALIZATION Capitalize when two or more sentences follow a sentence ending with a colon. Example: I love James Patterson’s writing: His book, Along Came a Spider, was a thriller. Also, NYPD Red kept me on the edge of my seat.

WHO / WHOM Use the he/him method to decide which word is correct. he = who him = whom Who/Whom wrote the letter? He wrote the letter. Therefore, who is correct. For who/whom should I vote? Should I vote for him? Therefore, whom is correct.

WHO / WHOM We all know who/whom pulled that prank. This sentence contains two clauses: We all know and who/whom pulled that prank. We are interested in the second clause because it contains the who/whom. He pulled that prank. Therefore, who is correct. (Are you starting to sound like a hooting owl yet?)

WHO / WHOM We want to know on who/whom the prank was pulled. This sentence contains two clauses: We want to know and the prank was pulled on who/whom. Again, we are interested in the second clause because it contains the who/whom. The prank was pulled on him. Therefore, whom is correct.

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