1

Business Writing

David Tebbuttwww.tebbo.com

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com2

Who talks like this?

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com3

Forget the past

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com4

Focus on your reader

Your reader

Their objectives Your objectives

You

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com5

A simple structure

Encapsulate

Expand

Conclude

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com6

Write from the heart

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com7

Review from the head

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com8

Person or institution?

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com9

Active voice

The use of the passive voice is to be discouraged

Avoid the passive voice

Use the active voice

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com10

Simple

“It is sagacious to eschew obfuscation”*

He exhibited an utter lack of comprehensionHe didn’t understand

In order to address this problem, a new methodology was utilised ...

I found the solution using a new method ...*Norman R. Augustine, in ‘Augustine’s Laws’. He was CEO of Lockheed Martin.

David Tebbutt – www.tebbo.com11

Summary

• Forget your conditioning• Know the reader and objectives• Start, middle, end• Write from the heart• Review from the head• Decide on ‘person’• Be active, concrete and clear