League News (New Jersey League of Community Bankers)

January 2006

Better writing means better productivity

By Jack E. Appleman, CBC

Bad writing can cost your bank or company time and money. Consider the impact of ambiguous emails, confusing client letters and dull proposals, just to name a few. They all spell inefficiency and can ultimately lower your bottom line. Poor writing is an epidemic spreading throughout all industries, including banking. According to a recent study by Information Mapping, Inc., 40% of respondents said they wasted up to three hours a day reading ineffectively written emails. That hurts!

The good news is that business writing is a learned skill, so employees at all levels-from loan officers and account managers to internal auditors and CEOs-can learn to write better, faster and more productively.

It's business, not high school/college English

One of the reasons so many employees struggle with writing is the lack of practical training since high school or college English. Plus, many habits learned back then-long-winded text and flowery words-won't cut it in increasingly impatient business world. Consider your English assignments from years back-essays of at least 1,000 words, which had to include some new vocabulary words. So you cranked out those long-winded sentences, inserted complex words and often repeated the same thoughts. Only one thing mattered-reaching that magic 1,000. What a terrible way to write!

To those who approach a business letter like an essay on War and Peace, it's time to get simple-with easy-to-understand text and as few words as possible. Remember, your documents are not being read by professors but by impatient readers who want one thing: Get to the point quickly!

Solution: customized writing training

Offering employees a writing training workshop tailored to their requirements is an investment that could pay off with higher productivity. As a first step, determine which employees most need to improve their writing skills. Then select an instructor, either from within the company or a qualified outside trainer, preferably one who with experience presenting writing workshops.

Request sample documents from those registered for the training, anything from client correspondence to financial performance analysis. Also, solicit feedback from their supervisors. Then sit down with the writing instructor to review samples and identify common problems. All this preparation will help determine the skills and types of documents to address and how to group employees.

Decide whether a half-day or full-day training would work best. Limit the size of each group workshop to 20 people. If possible, incorporate additional one-on-one instruction-which can prove critical in giving the personal touch to those less willing to share their writing issues in a group setting.

Key skills to cover

Below are some of the critical skills to cover in a writing workshop:
Getting started

Many people are stuck before their pen hits the pad or their hands touch the keypad- and just can't think of the right words! If you fall into this category, consider this scenario: Your boss, about to board a plane, calls and asks you to summarize that memo you're about to write on yesterday's meeting-in just one minute. What would happen? You'd be forced to immediately and concisely explain the key points-which is how you should approach each document! Though most people who read your text don't have to board planes in 60 seconds, they're still impatient. That's why you need to get to the point right away.
Be clear-don't make the reader guess key details.

Unclear

The deadline for compliance is nearing, at the end of January, so it would be appreciated if you could provide me with the necessary data well in advance, at least two weeks or so before.

Clear

To meet the January 31 compliance deadline, please provide me with the data by January 17.
Be concise-delete unnecessary words.

Wordy

The loan officer's report was carefully illustrated. The document was five pages long.

Concise

The loan officer's five-page report was carefully illustrated.
Master emails-with compelling subject lines

Email communication, potentially a great asset to any firm, is still a grossly underutilized tool. For example, if you want others to open your email sooner, write compelling subject lines, which could include action steps. Which one of these emails would you click on first?

Vague subject line

Report on Jan. sales

Specific subject line

Jan. sales up 15%/continue direct mail

Evaluation & ongoing instruction

Immediately following the group workshop, ask all participants to complete written evaluations. Then, in the next few weeks, get additional feedback from attendees and their supervisors on how much difference the training has made and whether additional group or one-on-one sessions should be scheduled. Talk to the instructor about methods for monitoring the progress of the participants through email and phone.

For too many individuals in the banking industry and in the rest of the corporate world, writing has been a forgotten skill. But the right training can dramatically improve writing skills and result in greater personal productivity and ultimately a higher bottom line.

Workshop Information

Jack Appleman will present a special three-hour workshop, Effective writing for banking professionals, on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the New Jersey League of Community Bankers headquarters in Cranford, NJ. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and repeated from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. To register, call 908-272-8500.

About the author

Jack E. Appleman, CBC, president of the Monroe, NY-based SG Communications, offers business writing training that helps employees at all levels write better and more productively. An award-winning writer with 25 years' experience, Appleman speaks frequently on writing and other aspects of communication. He also teaches writing and communication skills at Fairleigh Dickinson University and at William Paterson University in New Jersey. Appleman can be reached at 845-782-2419 (jack@successfulbusinesswriting.com).

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