- According to Roy Brewer, president of Capstone Development International, LLC, many recent college graduates are "severely" shortchanged in communication skills. They use inappropriate grammar, include text message terms in correspondence, and are generally unprepared to communicate.
- All workers should communicate with a businesslike, unemotional tone, according to Melanie McNary, Senior Professional in Human Resources and president of the Birmingham chapter of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources. She warns that e-mails can sound overly emotional when written too quickly and without thought.
- Charles Wilkinson, CEO of Human Resource Management, Inc. in Birmingham warns that, even though workers might delete e-mail messages, they never really go away, and inappropriate content can sometimes come back to haunt. "E-mail is like putting a bullet in a gun. You can't get it back once it's fired."
Ms. McLean also points out that employees often complain that managers write "cryptic and/or wordy messages that hide what they really mean." They, too, should edit for clarity and remember that big words don't necessarily impress. "There's a problem when someone is using words and language to manipulate rather than communicate," says Mike Lebeau, director of Career Services at UAB.
McLean offers this good reminder for writers at all levels of a business:
Most publications, including newspapers, are written on an eighth grade level. Business writing should be the same. Simple sentences allow adults to read quickly and efficiently.
Here are some good DO's and DON'T's from Ms. McLean's column:
DON'T use text message abbreviations in business correspondence.
DON'T answer e-mail when you are emotional.
DO read something well written each day. Reading builds vocabulary, spelling, and grammar skills.
DO proofread everything you write, including e-mail.
DO ask good writers and managers for suggestions about your writing.
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