Philip Vassallo in SimplyCommunicate.com

My writing consulting practice was recently featured in an article on SimplyCommunicate.com, a business website focusing on a hole host of communication issues. In a 1,300-word article, “Philip Vassallo Teaches Corporate Communicators How to Have the Write Stuff,” writer Kelly Kass accurately depicts some of the major issues that arise in my practice and underscore my books The Art of On-the-Job Writing and The Art of E-mail Writing:
• Dealing with writer’s block
• Understanding the role of audience in writing at work
• Distinguishing between revising and editing, and which to do first
• Focusing on the 4S Plan in writing: statement, support, structure, and style
• Writing collaboratively and for the boss’s signature
• Committing to continuous improvement in writing
• Managing e-mail effectively

Here’s the link:
http://www.simply-communicate.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=991&d=68&h=60&f=75&dateformat=%25e-%25h-%25y


To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144

To purchase your copy of The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/53/products_id/196

Style vs. Substance: A Thought

“When is style over substance acceptable in business writing?” asked Olasupo Adewolu, an engineer from New York City Transit, in one of my Executive Communication classes. What an excellent question, especially since when saying we like someone’s writing we're actually talking about style.

The answer to Mr. Adewolu’s question: Never. The point of business writing is substance—so if style gets in the way of substance, you’re distracting the reader. Here is an example:

It is a propitious moment in our organizational history for our reasonable committee members to contemplate a decision whether or not we should renew our contract with our current software vendor.

This 31-word sentence is laden with stylistic pitfalls. Consider what the writer really wants: a decision by the committee. With that purpose in mind, he should get to the point. Here are at least six of his stylistic problems:

1. The writer does not actually say the word decision until Word 18.

2. The nature of the decision, renew our contract, does not appear until Words 24-26.

3. The word propitious is overdone, especially when it places more focus on the moment in history than the desired action.

4. The phrase in our organizational history is a complete waste—even if timing were of the essence. This decision is not a historical lesson; it is a routine business practice.

5. The adjective reasonable clearly kowtows to the committee members—it’s almost laughable.

6. The phrase whether or not is most often a redundancy. Even current is a wasted word because the committee would not be renewing a contract with any other vender.

The writer draws more attention to himself than to his point through an overwrought vocabulary, an obsequious attitude, redundant expressions, and, most important, a delayed request. He could have achieved his point in half the words:

Our committee must decide now about whether to renew the contract with our software vendor.

This 15-word sentence gets to the point with blazing clarity. A multi-million, multi-year contract is at stake, so make your case plainly. The substance should dictate the style, not the other way around.


To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144

To purchase your copy of The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/53/products_id/196

Sound or Silence? Whatever It Takes!

Many people demand absolute silence when writing, but not Edmund White, writer of some twenty books and professor at Princeton University. In his essay “Before a Rendezvous with the Muse, First Select the Music,” he writes, “I’ve never willingly written a word without listening to music of some sort.”

White’s novel observations about the influence of music on the writing process appears as the final essay entry in Writers on Writing, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New York Times. Here’s a remarkable excerpt from his commentary:

More often than not I experience music as a landscape unscrolling just outside the window whenever I look up, or as a human drama unfolding across the courtyard when I peek out, or as a separate but beloved presence, an intimate friend sitting in a matching chair, thinking and feeling. Music for me is a companion during the lonely (and why not admit it? the boring) hours of writing.

I’ve heard one writing “expert” after another foolishly claim without a shred of evidence that writers should listen only to music that approximates the rate of a beating human heartbeat, or that only music without lyrics would be helpful during the composing process, or that silence is an absolute necessity to maintain concentration.

All nonsense. I’ve seen people write efficiently while listening to rap on their iPods. I’ve watched others write quickly to pop love songs or dramatic operatic arias. And, no doubt, I’ve known others to require quiet when composing. Some rise early to write while the rest of the world is asleep for this very reason.

Then what works. There is no one-fits-all answer to this question. Whatever it takes for you—music, jackhammers, barking dogs, silence, whatever. Experiment to see what best works for you.


To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144

To purchase your copy of The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/53/products_id/196

Turn Those Questions into Statements

The next time you create a bulleted or numbered list of questions, consider whether turning those questions into statements improve the purposefulness, clarity, and conciseness.

In the first draft below, the writer poses a list of questions; in the second draft, the writer opts for statements, reducing the word count by 35 percent.

Draft 1 (32 words)

The project committee should answer three questions:
• Is the project aligned with our mission?
• What will the project cost?
• Do we have a sufficient workforce to complete the project?


Draft 2 (21 words)

The project committee should address three issues:
• project alignment with our mission
• project cost
• workforce for project completion

To purchase your copy of The Art of On-the-Job Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php?cPath=14&products_id=144

To purchase your copy of The Art of E-Mail Writing by Philip Vassallo, click here: https://www.firstbooks.com/product_info.php/cPath/53/products_id/196