In todays competitive business environment, success is a by-product of effective written communication. The cutthroat business climate demands clear, concise and correct communication skills. Any ambiguity or imprecise language use is bound to create confusion that will spell lost productivity. To facilitate better business communication, many businesspersons are enrolling for business writing classes. There is a profusion of business writing courses, some

even being offered online. Both the demand and the expectation from these business-writing classes are high. The primary aim of these proliferating business-writing classes is to impart a set of writing skills that will propel businesspersons to communicate effectively.

Communication Failures

It has been estimated that many business executives spend as much as 4 hours daily reading communiqus, e-mails, letters, memos, reports, sales and fact sheets. They also confess that a majority of this written material suffers from a lack of clarity. They either contain glaring mistakes that give rise to confusion, or are verbose and repetitive or are entirely meaningless. They further aver that a rectification of these common failings will translate into better productivity. Their favorite grouse is that colleagues and support staff should be trained to streamline writing styles to incorporate business fundamentals. In other words, a business environment demands a business language that is precise, clear-cut and understandable.

Target Core Message

Business writing classes recognize this need for straightforward written communication in a business milieu. They have purposefully implemented an agenda that emphasizes the overriding importance of a business writing style. The ground rules for business writing are simple: it should target its core

message to its selected audience. A business-writing course is designed to inculcate a writing style that is direct, jargon-free and comprehensible. A business-writing course thus shuns innuendos, double talk and opacity.

Short Course Duration

A majority of business writing classes are of short duration, spanning a few weeks. Their intended aim is to indoctrinate their students who are working professionals from the business world, into the modalities of business writing. The first step towards this reorientation is to alert them through live examples to the pitfalls that attach any written document. This open demonstration technique helps the working professionals identify their personal shortcomings. The second method is to reveal alternative business writing skills that will render their written communications more lucid. This detailed delineation of effective writing techniques continues relentlessly for the entire length of the course. This daily drumming and constant insistence on cultivating a business writing style usually produces tangible results. Towards the closure of the class, business-writing techniques have been internalized by working professionals.

Comprehensive Curriculum

A business writing class is comprehensive and will delve into the details of how to write memos, e-mails, letters, reports and proposals. Each mode of communication demands a different approach and is exhaustively researched to detect its essential elements. Obviously e-mail should be a quick read, whereas a proposal will be several pages thick. A letter should highlight pertinent material whereas an internal memo may have a more relaxed tone. Reports are by their very nature exhaustive and sales figures should have the necessary graphs. Fact sheets should stick to facts and outgoing letters should be properly formatted. Each business communication is different and should be treated as a separate entity; that is the driving rationale behind a business writing class.

Student Participation

The next practical step in a business writing class is to elicit the written participation of the students through a grueling schedule of writing assignments. These tests determine the intake capacity of the students and whether they have imbibed the fundamental principles of business writing. For instance, a letter writing session by students will be closely scrutinized to see if it conforms to the format and content taught in class. Or a report will be evaluated based on the criteria that have been discussed in class. Business writing classes thrive on these parameters of self-assessment through a series of graded examinations.

Rudimentary Canons of Business Writing

The explicit aim of a business writing class is to instill confidence in the working professionals that they can assimilate the rudimentary canons of business writing. These revolve around functionality, simplicity and directness. To this end, business-writing coaches arrange lectures by visiting guests from the business world, encourage greater interaction among the students, and have a feedback mechanism that charts the students progress. Furthermore, the instructor is also available for consultation and feedback, and provides close mentoring on an individual basis.

Highly Affordable

These business writing courses are highly affordable. They invariably charge a low upfront fee; this affordability is responsible for their skyrocketing popularity. Their low price range makes them accessible to a greater number of working professionals. Nowadays many corporations who are encouraging their recruits to upgrade their business writing skills have made business-writing courses mandatory. Consequently, business-writing courses have mushroomed in many cities. Another plus point is that many of these business writing courses are also available online and can be accessed by working professionals from the comfort of their homes.

Necessity of the Millennium

Obviously then business writing is the necessity of the millennium. Business writing is radically distinct from ordinary communication because by its intrinsic nature it is brief and streamlined. It highlights the basics of a communication rather than looping into repetitive redundancy. It is a competent way of communicating the gist of a written piece so that valuable time is not wasted. With dogged determination business writing can be conveniently learned from an expert professional. Business writing has leaped center stage and is being recommended as an invaluable adjunct in todays supercharged business environment.

Business writing is direct, focused, meaningful, cordial and organized. Business writing is at once a visual encapsulation of a persons intent and purpose. Business writing condenses pertinent information in a straightforward manner to facilitate instant understanding between disparate individuals. Business writing is a new age tool that builds on grammatically correct, technically exact terminology that spurns double speak. Thus business writing is impeccable, immaculate and cogent. Business writing has come of age and is assisting many working professional breach the communication gap.