Communications: Write Like a Pro

Part 2: Written Communication – Your messages on the page or screen

June 3, 2025

So much of how we communicate in business is verbal. We’ve covered the importance of honing your verbal communication in a previous post. But nearly as important as verbal communications are written communications. While there are similarities between the two, there are some key differences.

Written communications require you to hold the audience’s attention long enough for them to read what you’ve written and be clear enough that your message is received. There’s a lot of academic research on encoding and decoding messages, and everything that happens in between. The summary: so much can happen in the space between when you write your communication and when it’s received, that extra care is required when crafting it.

With endless texts, emails, messages, reports, and slides – and new modes cropping up all the time – being able to write in a way that cuts through the noise is a critical career skill.

You see the downside of sloppy written communications all the time. An email that goes unanswered. An update that no one reads. A text that is misinterpreted. Your message could get lost in the clutter, the structure, or the tone.

Good writing represents a thoughtful expression of clear thinking. Your effective writing leads to ideas with traction. Your teammates come to rely on your updates. Your emails inspire action. You become known as credible and thoughtful. And you realize the results you are looking for.

There are some fundamentals of verbal communications that also hold true for written communications. There are others that pertain specifically to writing. We’ll look at both so that you can be on your way to excellent communications. We’ll use a building analogy to illustrate: you have a foundation, the first floor and the rooftop.

1. The Foundation: Audience and Objective

Two fundamental questions before you type a single word:

Who is this for?
What is my main point?

Similar to verbal communications, written communication requires you to be clear on these questions. The answers will help you set the tone, decide the communication channel and craft the structure and content of the message.

People will sometimes make the mistake of writing for themselves, rather than their audience. Or they may have the wrong audience in mind. I once had a direct report send me detailed instructions on all of the required next steps on a project. Clearly, he had intended to send me a quick update, but because he was coming from a project team meeting, he still had all the project’s specific details in mind when he sent me the message.

Think through what your reader already knows, what they need to know and what you want them to do (or think) with the information you’re sending.

You’ll want to make sure that your main point comes across clearly, and your reader walks away with your one or two key takeaways from your message.

A good test is for you to think of a one sentence summary of your message. If you can’t summarize your intent, your message likely lacks the clarity it needs. And if you’re not clear on the intent, your reader won’t be either. Make sure you are explicit about whether your message is to provide an update, request a decision, alert to a potential issue or request action.

These foundational steps – audience and objective – will help you build your entire written communication.

2. The First Floor: Structure

Just like in verbal communications, you’ll want to select whether you lead with your conclusion or build to it. The difference with written communications is that the channel you select can provide additional support to get your message across.

There are two main approaches to structuring your written communications: lead with the bottom line or build up to the conclusion.

Starting with your most important point can help hook the reader and make your message easily scannable. But it could have a downside that your reader does not fully absorb your rationale. This approach is ideal for short form written communications (like texts or IMs) and for busy readers who need a quick update (like executives).

Building up to your conclusion ensures that you are taking your reader through your thought process. However, you risk losing them before you get to your main point. This approach can be more suitable to longer communications (a detailed email or an instruction document like a Standard Operating Procedure) and for an audience who needs more detail or may use your communications a reference later on.

3. The Rooftop: Appearance and Tone

You’ve got most of your content figured out. Now you set up your communication to be resonate with your audience. Most of us are looking for succinct communications that are well-thought out and scannable. Very few of us enjoy looking at a wall of text.

One of my colleagues was notorious for creating the World’s Longest Emails. She was a highly knowledgeable expert in her field, but she was a terrible communicator. She typically only communicated via email, and all her emails were lengthy discourses with paragraphs of prose. It was never easy to discover what the main point or purpose of her emails was. A lot of our colleagues thought she was writing to try to prove how smart she thought she was. Her messages had the opposite effect – many people thought she didn’t really have the leadership skills to advance in the organization.

You can avoid becoming like her with a few important tips:

When possible, break up your writing into small soundbites
Short paragraphs of 2-3 sentences usually read well
Use formatting like headers, bullet points or numbered lists
Bold or underlined key points can also be effective, but be sure not to overuse this tool

Your content should be to skimmable – especially in emails. Readers are scanning for next steps or key decisions. Keep in mind that people may not be reading your message on a computer at their desk. They could very well be on their phone or tablet in line a grocery store or at their kids’ soccer game.

The tone of your message matters. Some messages require a more casual tone, such as quick reply to a clarifying question. Other messages need more formality and structure – this will all depend on your audience and objective. Your tone to senior executives will be more direct, respectful and humble. Your tone to your directive reports may be more motivational and inspiring. Adjust your approach for each communication.

One advanced tip that never fails: always edit. Your first draft is likely not your best effort. It might be too long, too repetitive or have some unintended corporate jargon. Go for simple phrases, clarity and no filler. You might even try to read your message out loud to see how it sounds. Remember to put yourself in the head of your audience to see how your message comes across.

Call to Action: Sharpen Your Pencil – and Your Writing Skills – Now

It’s never too soon to refine your writing skills. You can start with your next email or IM. Just before you hit Send, ask yourself:

Who’s my audience?
What’s my point?
How does it look?
How does it sound?

It takes practice to write like a pro. You may stumble along the way, and you may even turn to a colleague or mentor to give you input on longer emails. But over time, and with the right feedback, these steps will come naturally and you’ll build a reputation as someone who is thoughtful, brings clarity, and makes it easier for others to achieve their goals.