Writing a business article

How many times have you heard someone say, "But I can’t write and, anyway, I’ve got nothing interesting to write about."

Both of these statements ought to be discarded early on. First of all, if you can talk, you can write. And, secondly, everyone has something interesting to relate about what they do that most readers know nothing about.

By Ira Nottonson

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/business_plus/article/0,1713,BDC_2462_2975114,00.html

The surgeon will have stories about unique situations of life and death; the trash collector will have unusual tales of items that most people wouldn’t dream of, recalling the old adage, "One person’s trash is another person’s treasure." Stories abound if you think about the things you do. The benefit to putting something in writing is that you create a focus for yourself.

For the person dealing with customers, focusing is a good way to better recognize the approach you ought to take to satisfy the customer’s needs. For the person not dealing with a customer, focusing is a good way to better understand the nature of your work, how you can make it better, satisfy your superiors and how it affects the other aspects of your life.

The problem with most people trying to write a business article is that they try to create too big a meal for one bite. It’s very much like telling a story to a friend. If you make it too complicated, you will lose their attention by creating a snooze factor. Keep it short. Make the sentences understandable. Don’t use peer language.

Make sure you use language that communicates your idea to the average reader. You don’t have to bring your language to the lowest common denominator so the kindergarten student can read it, but be careful not to confuse the reader with words or phrases that will intimidate or prevent the reader from moving on.

Even the surgeon knows enough to discuss a heart attack with the average person rather than using "myocardial infarction."

Every story has a sequence. Starting at the beginning, going through the middle and stopping at the end is a good way to start your thinking. Writing a story is not much different than giving a speech. And there are classes about how to give a speech. Although counting backward can be an interesting exercise, it doesn’t often work for the average business person.

Starting a story at the end can be an intriguing method for the experienced writer, but the average person will find it more interesting to start at the beginning.

And remember what your English teacher taught you years ago: Try to start your paragraph with a sentence that explains or introduces what the rest of the paragraph contains.

You ought to understand the perspective of the people you are addressing. An article about war will probably not be appealing to the people reading a magazine about bringing up baby. Whether the newest spots on the night club scene will interest the senior citizen may be somewhat conjectural. Pick your story, pick your audience, pick your placement.

Remember, if the story goes nowhere in terms of publication, you can take great pride in the fact that you’ve done it. Expressing yourself is literally the predicate for your every day conversation and, in business, the method by which you communicate. Learning to package your information in a way that will allow it to be understood is a solid method of creating that all important communication between you and the rest of the world.

Very much like attending a seminar, if you can glean one good idea from the entire program, then the cost of the seminar was well spent. If you can bring one good idea to the surface, if you can make one problem more visible or more understandable with some alternative suggested solutions, then your time will not have been wasted.

The idea of doing some writing can serve many purposes. Give it a try.

Ira Nottonson is a business/legal consultant for small businesses and a business valuation expert. He lives in Boulder and can be reached at (303) 447-9672 or e-mailed at [email protected]. Nottonson will be teaching "Secrets of a Successful Business Plan" at the Boulder Chamber of Commerce. Call the chamber at (303) 442-1044 for information.