Posted March 29, 2024 The short answer: your organization should rewrite its documents as many times as needed to produce successful output.   But this short answer belies a lot of complexity. How do you know when the output is “successful,” for example? How do you know if your rewriting processes are working well (keeping rewrites to a minimum) or if problems in the rewriting process itself are preventing successful output?   The goal is to produce a document that will achieve the desired objectives, with as few drafts as possible. Some rewriting is necessary, certainly, but there ..read more

Posted March 25, 2024 In the process of creating powerful and impactful written content, the review and revision process plays a pivotal role. “More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer is rewriting,” author John Irving has said. So it’s no wonder that most business writing goes through a careful review and revision process to ensure the document can meet its intended objectives, whether that's facilitating effective knowledge transfer, clinching a sale, or adhering to regulatory requirements.   However, without a streamlined approach, document review can easil ..read more

Posted March 25, 2024 In the process of creating powerful and impactful written content, the review and revision process plays a pivotal role. “More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer is rewriting,” author John Irving has said. So it’s no wonder that most business writing goes through a careful review and revision process to ensure the document can meet its intended objectives, whether that's facilitating effective knowledge transfer, clinching a sale, or adhering to regulatory requirements.   However, without a streamlined approach, document review can easil ..read more

Posted March 21, 2024   When writing suffers, so does business. At its core, bad writing and inefficient writing processes can actively damage a company's financial standing. Sometimes the impact is direct, as when unpersuasive, poorly crafted proposals or presentations fail to make sales. Sometimes the impact is indirect: unnecessarily labor, time-, and resource-intensive writing processes will result in waste and loss of efficiency and productivity.   Moreover, an organization's credibility and reputation can suffer from consistently poor communication, leading to lost opportunitie ..read more

Posted Feb. 20, 2024 Effective communication is a cornerstone of success in the business world. Recognizing this, organizations are increasingly investing in professional writing courses for their teams. However, not all courses are created equal. A course that guarantees results must be meticulously designed. But how can you separate the wheat from the chaff in a world that’s overflowing with writing programs and courses? Our decades of experience have resulted in a finely honed understanding of what makes a successful professional writing course for teams. Here’s what you need to look for ..read more

Posted March 21, 2024   When writing suffers, so does business. At its core, bad writing and inefficient writing processes can actively damage a company's financial standing. Sometimes the impact is direct, as when unpersuasive, poorly crafted proposals or presentations fail to make sales. Sometimes the impact is indirect: unnecessarily labor, time-, and resource-intensive writing processes will result in waste and loss of efficiency and productivity.   Moreover, an organization's credibility and reputation can suffer from consistently poor communication, leading to lost opportunitie ..read more

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Posted Feb. 5, 2024 Writing is undeniably an indispensable skill in the technical, scientific, and engineering sectors, but have you ever wondered why, in college, engineers are required to take so few writing courses?    “A very experienced engineer I worked with towards the beginning of my career once told me, the output of engineering is documentation,” says Aaron Moncur, host of the podcast Being an Engineer, in a conversation with Pam Hurley, PhD, founder of Hurley Write. He’s right: we have long argued that the document is the deliverable of your work.   Yet most writing ..read more

Posted Dec. 18, 2023 Does writing training still matter when organizations can turn to AI tools for content creation?   The answer is yes, without a doubt, it still matters. That’s because, while AI has revolutionized many aspects of business operations, it hasn’t replaced the need for quality writing. In fact, if anything, writing training is critical to making optimal use of available AI tools, should an organization choose to do so. There’s an opportunity here for a collaborative, symbiotic relationship that uses writing training and AI tools in tandem to ensure human workers are alwa ..read more

Posted Dec. 11, 2023 In business, when writing falls short, it can have a significant ripple effect on productivity. Managers often find themselves in the unexpected role of editors, diverting valuable time from their primary responsibilities. This scenario is far too common and is a major roadblock to efficient operations. Worse, poor writing can damage productivity and business outcomes all by itself.   Just ask FedEx. Their ground operations manual once proved so difficult to read and understand that readers would find the information they needed only about half (53%) of the time. How ..read more