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Business Writing: Head to Paper Quickly and and Correctly by Al Borowski

Business writing does not have to mean time-consuming fear and drudgery.

You can dramatically speed up the process of creating a letter, memo or report with a simple three-step strategy.

Besides saving you time, this approach will help you become clear, focused and organized.

Before reviewing this process, let me make a comment.

I am willing to bet that before you begin a letter writing or report writing task, what should go in that document already resides inside your head. You know what you want to say or write. You know what the reader needs.

But for some reason, you just can't seem to get started.

To help you get to and stick to the point, I recommend you start with a Core Dump.

A Core Dump is a three-step process that transfers ideas from your head to paper or to the keyboard.

Many people skip this step in favor of a mental outline or a verbal hemorrhage.

I caution you against mental outlines because they can work against you.

Mental outlines rely on trying to select, sort, and remember information in your brain.

Your brain is the storage bin for everything going on in your business and personal life. So, if you try to compose your ideas in your mind, you are competing with everything going on in your entire life. That's a lot of competition and that's a lot of frustration.

A Core Dump takes the "remembering" component out of the equation.

Let’s review the three steps of a Core Dump.

Step One - DUMP

When you have decided the purpose of your document, quickly jot down on a piece of paper as many ideas, facts, or details you feel the readers need to know, understand or act on.

Notice, I recommended you create your Core Dump on a piece of paper. That way, you will have your key ideas in front of you while you are composing at the keyboard.

Step Two - SELECT

The second step involves selecting the three most important points from your list. I recommend you limit the number of points you discuss in an e-mail or letter to no more than three key ideas.

Remember, the points you intend to address must be important to the readers. If you don't focus on what the readers want, need, expect, or ask for, you limit your chances of having your readers skim or scan your document with their full attention.

Step Three - RANK

Finally, rank those three ideas in the order in which you wish to present them.

Having these ideas in front of you will help your brain focus on them and ensure you will cover them in your document.

This step also ensures you focus your main points on what the audience wants and needs, not what you want them to know.

The Core Dump process helps organize your thoughts, focus on the main message and ensures you include important ideas.

This process takes only a few seconds, but it could improve your writing and your chances of getting results.

Al Borowski, MEd, CSP, PP, is a communications skills image consultant. He helps business professionals protect or improve their images when they speak, write, or listen. He is an author, speaker, trainer, and coach.

Al has been a popular seminar leader for The American Management Association, Dun & Bradstreet, and several top universities. He also speaks at conventions, conferences, and meetings.

His website, http://www.connectallthedots.com offers free audio, video, and written tips as well as a bi-weekly UseLetter, to help you take your career to the next level.