This article will focuses on written communication as a critical soft skill. Soft skills are important skills that improve our ability to work with others. Good soft skills help us build and maintain relationships at work and in our personal lives. If we develop strong soft skills for our jobs, our teams will be more effective, we will better serve our clients, and everyone will benefit from a positive work environment.
Beginning in the 1990s, email began to emerge as the dominant written form of business communication. Today, it remains dominant in business communications, but text message via phone and collaboration programs like Microsoft Teams and Slack have become common. People may put less attention to the Quality of text messages compared to email, but delivering an effective message is important regardless of the platform.
Below is a 5-step process you can apply to improve your written communication in email or text.
- Write
Get to the point quickly.
Use short paragraphs and bullet points for emails.
For emails, consider leaving the To, CC, and BCC fields blank until later in the process to avoid inadvertently sending a draft. - Review for content
Does everything support your message?
Is what you want the recipient to do clear?
If responding to an inquiry or request, does your message address what was asked/requested?
Are necessary attachments or links included? If using attachments, consider attachment size before sending (may be blocked due to size). - Proofread
Check grammar.
Check for typos; use spellcheck (for email). - Read for tone
Is the tone professional and polite?
Reading it aloud can be helpful to check your message tone. - Send
Add the recipients – Who is it To and who is being CC’d only? Is it a group text? Is anyone on the distribution list that doesn’t need to be? Is anyone missing?
Include attachments.
An artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini may be a useful tool in proofreading and editing written communication. However, there are considerations with potentially sharing confidential information with the AI as well as potential biases and weaknesses of any given AI. Use with caution
or you may not achieve the Quality improvement you seek!