Marv

A: I once had a job in a law firm where all of the junior lawyers had to take a legal writing class once a week. I struggled to learn the firm's style which was, like the firm, formal, dry, and boring. In the end, I was fired because I was told that I didn't write well enough.

It was a fortuitous experience however as being fired forced me to start my own business (a law firm) and that in turn changed my life; voila! Here I am fortunate enough to writing about business to you today.

But I must confess that I was indeed not the greatest legal writer around. I had a hard time confining what I wanted to say into the structures dictated by precedent and expectations. I have had far more success and enjoyment writing about franchises and business. But even here I find too many people who think there are writing rules that Must Be Followed.

There are, but they may not be the ones that you think. So here then are my Top 5 Rules for effective business writing, whether it be for a brochure, an ad, a proposal, a business plan, a column, or whatever.

Rule No. 1: Check the Jargon at the Door. Lawyers love Latin, and not only for its alliterative attributes. Attorneys think that Latin makes them sound smarter than everyone else. What they don't realize is that it usually just makes them sound arrogant.

Businesspeople also can fall into the same trap, only we use jargon instead of Latin in our attempt to impress. For example, how many times have you read or heard about someone wanting to "interface" when what they really mean is talk? Or what about something like the "need to leverage investments in our IT infrastructure to drive profits." What does "leverage" in that sentence really mean? You got me. The worst culprits are words that have been bastardized: Actionable, incentivize, operationalize, and so on.

Jargon sometimes has its place, but too often it is simply used as a lazy shortcut that adds nothing to the synergy of the point. See?

Rule No. 2: KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid is a very good rule to remember when writing for business. Of course it sometimes has to be complicated, but more often than not, if you want people to understand what you are trying to say, simplicity carries the day.

Think about it. When someone is reading your business writing, they have no idea where it is going or what the point is. Keeping it simple helps them understand.

Rule No. 3: Be Logical: Walk your reader intelligently and logically to where you want him or her to go. You have to think through the steps people need to understand to get to the conclusion you want them to get to. Too often, business writers make leaps of logic and don't explain to the reader how or why a conclusion was reached. If you want your readers to reach the same conclusion you came to, you have to logically, step-by-step, lead them there.

Rule No. 4: Use Examples: To the extent possible, use stories to drive your points home. Stories (like my law firm example above) keep people's interest and reinforce conclusions. Movies and TV are stories. Newspapers are full of stories. People like stories. Tell the story of your franchise if possible.

Rule No. 5: Make it Snappy, Pappy! The greatest sin in business writing, yet the easiest one to commit, is to be boring. But your business writing need not be boring. In fact, the more you use your creativity, the more memorable your writing will be, and the better results you will get. If you make it snappy, pappy, you will not only have more fun, hon, but you will also make more money, honey.

About Steve Strauss

Steven D. Strauss is one of the world's leading experts on entrepreneurship. A lawyer, author, and public speaker, his latest book is The Big Idea: How Business Innovators Get Great Ideas to Market. Steve's columns regularly appear on USA Today.com, Workz.com, Bizland.com, and Staples.com, among others. You can sign up today for his free newsletter, "Small Business Success Secrets!" at his business web site - www.MrAllBiz.com.