1st Edition
Write Now! How to Influence and Connect with Your Business Writing
Filled with techniques from Aristotle to AI, games, exercises, and more, this book will make you an influential business writer—the one who cuts through the noise and changes what your readers think, feel, and do.
Business writing often seems frightening, and seriously great writing is rare in the workplace. If writing has been taught at all, it’s through managers covering errors with red ink or online trolls complaining about grammar. This book offers a kinder, gentler, funnier way to improve your writing, from an author who’s taught around the world and is encouraging, original, fun, and always supportive. Whether you read sections in sequence or jump to the topics that most interest you, with this hands-on guide at your side you will:
• Understand what readers want from writers
• Write with confidence and style
• Structure and plan your writing
• Overcome writer’s block
• Get more readers
Anyone who has to write for business—to convince, to break down barriers, and simply to express themselves well—will welcome the road-tested tips and techniques in this light hearted and practical guide.
Part 1 - Clarity. Why Everyone Loves Great Writing. Chapter 1: Inside a reader’s mind. Chapter 2: What do you want from your writing? Chapter 3: How to make readers chose you. Chapter 4: Creating the best environment and mindset for writing. Part 2 – Structure. The Nuts and Bolts of Writing. Chapter 5: Planning and intros. Chapter 6: Paragraphs and sentences. Chapter 7: Grammar and punctuation. Chapter 8: Words and meaning. Part 3 – How to Be an Amazing Writer. You Can Always Get What You Want. Chapter 9: Persuasion, connection, influence. Chapter 10: Finding your writing voice. Chapter 11: Key messages in crisis communications. Chapter 12: The six bricks of an unbeatable argument. Part 4 – Charisma. A Better Way to Make an Impact. Chapter 13: A Beginner’s Guide to Charisma. Chapter 14: The quest for clarity. Chapter 15: The Power of Business Storytelling. Chapter 16: The human side of AI. Part 5 – Polishing. Making the diamond shine. Chapter 17: The essential polishes – editing, revising, proofing. Chapter 18: Summaries and info tables. Chapter 19: Design and visuals. Chapter 20: What is Readability, and how do you get it?
Biography
Andreas Loizou teaches business writing and storytelling around the world. His clients include leading global banks, thinktanks and consultancies. Andreas has an M.Phil in English from Cambridge. He started his career with PWC, worked as an investment analyst at Goldman Sachs and was director of training at Financial Times Knowledge. His books The Devil’s Deal and The Story is Everything have been translated into over twenty languages. Andreas also founded the world-famous Margate Bookie writing festival.
