Good business writing makes the reader's life easier

When I trained as a journalist, it was always drilled into me that writing must be clear, concise, and easy for the reader to digest. We were taught to keep the lowest common denominator in mind – news writing needed to be accessible. Simple sentence structures and common words won out.

When I shifted from writing news stories to defending computer networks, I was surprised to find how valuable that training still was. Quality writing saves time when communicating with colleagues and customers, and enables prompt understanding and action when a cyber security incident occurs.

The opposite happens in scenarios familiar to any white collar worker:

• Meandering emails where it’s hard to decipher the request (or at the other end of the spectrum, the dreaded “hi” Teams message with no further information provided until the recipient replies)

• Requests that omit critical information, wasting time when the recipient needs to engage in an email exchange with the sender to gather enough details to take any action

• Emails that conceal the sender’s motivations or intentions – for example, a thread forwarded with the note “look at this report”, when the sender actually wants the recipient to act on it

These inefficiencies can creep in regardless of who you are and what point you’re at in your career. New joiners do it because they lack the experience to know what’s missing. Executives do it because they’re too busy (which blows up later when they either need to spend more time answering questions or get unintended output from junior team members who were afraid to ask).

It all comes down to empathy – not emotional, but practical. Put aside your own needs and think about the recipient’s priorities and perspective. When writing anything in the office, your goal should be to make the receipt of your message as smooth as possible. Effortless action gets prioritised.

Reducing cognitive load

People are busy. When your message lands in their inbox, they make an assessment – conscious or otherwise – as to how much time and effort it will cost them to process. The more barriers you throw in their way, the more likely they will flag the email to come back to sometime next week.

For the best chance of getting things done, make it as easy as possible for the recipient to act. Be concise – no unnecessary essays. Remove ambiguity and make it clear what you actually require. Where a decision is needed, present options for them to choose from – don’t leave them to start from scratch.

Grease the wheels of future communications by anticipating questions and issues – provide answers and options in advance

It also helps to grease the wheels of future communications – or eliminate them entirely. It’s groan-inducing to receive a request that could have included all the necessary information, but will require a back and forth discussion to reach a point where it is actionable. Again, that’s the kind of omission that will push you to the bottom of the recipient’s to-do list.

Put yourself in their shoes, anticipate the questions you would have if you received your message, and answer them in advance. If the person you’re emailing is likely to encounter problems along the way, provide them with additional steps to try when your first option doesn’t work. The more they can do without replying, the more time is saved for you both.

Every word counts

When a security incident is unfolding at 2am and I’m drafting an escalation email to a customer, every word matters. There’s no time for back-and-forth clarifications or misunderstandings. The recipient must understand the situation, assess its severity, and take action – all from a single message.

It’s an extreme example, but the same principle applies to every email. Efficient business writing makes for efficient business. It saves time, reduces friction, and makes you look competent. The recipient gets what they need, you get what you want (often more quickly), and everyone moves on. Generally, the less there is to say about your email, the better it is.