Cambridge Business Association
The Language of Success
Book

The Language of Success

Business Writing That Informs, Persuades, and Gets Results

Tom Sant
AMACOM, 2008
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8

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Recommendation

Has a business colleague ever sent you a rambling e-mail chock full of misspelled words, acronyms, text message abbreviations and even emoticon smiley faces? Or have you had to wade through an incomprehensible report filled with technical terms, industry jargon and run-on sentences? Both these experiences indicate a larger problem: bad writing. Many people need to write as part of their jobs, but few of them do it well. Communication expert Tom Sant identifies four problematic writing styles that obstruct clear, functional communication: “Fluff, Guff, Geek and Weasel.” Sant attacks the problem, beginning with eight tips for composing better e-mails. He tells you how to tailor clear, succinct, accurate documents to your audience. His generous use of examples helps illustrate the rights and wrongs of business writing. Thankfully, this how-to-write book is well-written and, at times, even humorous. getAbstract suggests keeping it next to your dictionary and thesaurus, and referring to it often.

Summary

Everyone Is a Writer

You may not consider yourself to be a writer, but in today’s knowledge-based economy, where communicating via the written word is an essential skill, most people are writers, willingly or not. Businesspeople need to write skillfully, whether they are composing a quick e-mail to set up a meeting or drafting a lengthy annual report.

Your success may depend upon your ability to communicate well with your bosses, co-workers, employees, vendors and customers.

Having the professional ability to write enables you to provide data, offer an opinion, motivate and persuade others, woo management or inform investors.

Efficient E-mails

E-mail is today’s primary business communication vehicle, surpassing all other forms of writing. Even simple e-mails have an enormous impact. When an employee received the following e-mail from an irate CEO and leaked it to The Wall Street Journal, which published it, the CEO’s company’s stock dropped more than 20%:

“We are getting less than 40 hours of work from a large number of our KC-based EMPLOYEES. The parking lot is sparsely used at 8AM; likewise at 5PM. As managers – you either do not...

About the Author

Tom Sant, the author of the bestseller Persuasive Business Proposals, is a sales trainer and the co-founder of Hyde Park Partners. Sant has worked with major corporate clients.

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