Speeches-to-go to English 101 – how business writing is changing

As a business writer working with a wide variety of clients, I have developed several new types of service to meet the needs of today’s companies.

International English – editing reports written where English is not the first language

Speeches-to-go – an accelerated process for speech-writing

Style-shop – professional editing of communications drafted in-house

Clear English 101 – a basic course in business writing  

So how did these new ways of working come about…? Essentially I've become part of the future that I've predicted. I’ve spent over a decade writing about globalisation, technology, competition, the pace of change and the need for a highly skilled workforce. I’ve seen these forces at work, but mainly second-hand through the companies I write for. Now I'm increasingly seeing at need to deal with them in my own business of communications. So I decided these new ways of working needed some names …

International English This phrase was suggested by an Italian client who said “We have written a sustainability report. All the information is there. But we are Italians and we just need a professional English writer to edit it into really good business English .”  Within weeks I was doing similar work for clients from Mexico and Denmark. This type of work is a direct result of globalisation as more and more companies see a need to report on their performance and promote their work internationally, using English as the main global language of business.

Speeches-to-go  People producing articles, speeches, websites and reports for companies have less and less time to spare. Business pressures have led many organisations to reduce headcounts, leaving those who remain to get more done in less time. Senior executives are stretched as never before as they try to run more complex businesses and meet the varied demands of customers, investors, regulators and policy-makers. The conference speech that merited two brainstorming meetings and ten drafts five years ago now has to be started and finished in a week.  Instead of a leisurely email, projects start with a call saying “Hey David, are you busy….like, now?” Hence I’ve developed my Speeches-to-go approach. It’s all about 'concertina-ing' the process, maximising efficiency, sourcing the right material and getting clearances quickly and ensuring those who need to be involved are there when needed.

Style-shop is my term for using my skills to professionalise a speech or report that has already been written or half-written by someone who is a specialist in the relevant subject, but not a writer. I find this is happening more and more as companies call me in at a late stage in their process - sometimes because they started the project in-house, sometimes because they have been too busy to brief an external writer early on. In fact I have no complaints because it is an ideal division of labour - even if by accident rather than design. The content expert is responsible for content and the presentation expert is responsible for presentation.

Clear English 101  Getting grammar right is still seen as critical to maintain credibility with customers and directors. Yet many people coming into organisations have had little formal training in the rules of punctuation or sentence construction.  At the same time, there is also pressure to be able to write clearly and punchily. Specialists in technology, engineering or finance are being asked to express their work in ways that non-specialists such as the media or shareholders can understand. So language has to be clear and simple at the same time as grammatical. To help business people with these twin demands, I’ve developed a one-day programme called Clear English 101 – dedicated to getting it right and keeping it simple. It covers how to avoid common mistakes and how to write clearly.