Report writing: reasons to do it well
By
Tim North
info@betterwritingskills.com
http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com
Get the List of 4,400+ Translation Agencies Now!
No Recurring Membership Fees!
You
probably don't have a burning desire to write reports.
Nonetheless,
you've ended up having to write them. There's a natural
tendency to want to get the darn things written and
off your desk as soon as possible. There are all sorts
of reasons for this:
*
Writing can be a pain in the behind.
*
You didn't take this job to become a writer.
*
You've got a dozen other "real jobs" that
need doing.
*
You're just having one of those days (or weeks or
months).
*
It's Friday afternoon.
*
etc.
We
can all identify with these feelings. Still, to use
a cliche, if something's worth doing, it's worth doing
*well*.
Now
that's not just hollow sentiment. There are good reasons
for taking your writing responsibilities seriously.
Here are a few of them:
Reputation
----------
Over
time, what you write -- and the way you write it --
will be remembered, for better or worse. If you succumb
to the "just get it done" or the "near
enough is good enough" schools of thought then,
over time, the people you write for will start to
judge you accordingly.
Conversely,
if you go the extra yards and do a good job on your
reports, letters and memos, that too will be remembered;
and it will influence your reputation accordingly.
Remember:
you are what you write.
Credibility
---------
The
reputation that we just discussed has a flow-on effect:
it influences your credibility. Consider two staff
members:
*
Person A doesn't like writing. She has a reputation
for writing reports that have to be sent back or
fixed. They don't always answer all of the things
they were supposed to; facts sometimes contain errors;
material is inappropriately cut and pasted from
earlier reports without change; the layout isn't
in the approved style etc.
*
Person B also doesn't like writing. Still, she has
a reputation for writing reports that don't need
to be sent back or fixed; they answer all of the
things they were supposed to; the facts presented
are well checked; her reports are well written and
well presented etc.
An
incident occurs, and each person provides a different
written version of events. Which account will have
the greater credibility?
Regardless
as to who is *right* in this particular case, it's
human nature that a person with a reputation for well
written, accurate reporting will have his or her written
statement awarded a greater level of credibility.
This
credibility may not just be extended to his or her
written work. People may come to judge your character
and work ethic on the basis of a history of well-written
submissions.
Reciprocity
-----------
When
you write reports (or letters or memos), you're often
doing so in response to a specific request. It may
often seem that the people who make these requests
are completely unaware of how much work it takes for
you to write the reports or how inconvenient they
can be.
This
won't always be the case though. At least some (perhaps
most) of the people who ask for such reports do understand
that you'll have to work on them. And some (hopefully
most) will appreciate the effort you put in to submitting
a good report.
One
day, you might want something from them.
If
you have a history of submitting well written reports
that are right the first time, a good manager will
recognise this effort. When you next need a favour,
hopefully your efforts will be remembered and your
request treated in a favourable light.
Bottom
line: Time spent writing well is not wasted. You get
the benefits described here, and your employer gets
better reports.
It's a win-win situation.
You'll
find many more helpful tips like these in Tim North's
much applauded range of e-books. More information
is available on his web site, and all books come with
a money-back guarantee. http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com
Buy
databases of ideas!
Read
more articles on working as a freelancer - Free!
Read
articles for translators - Free!
E-mail
this article to your colleague!
Need
more translation jobs? Click here!
Translation
agencies are welcome to register here - Free!
Freelance
translators are welcome to register here - Free!
Subscribe
to TranslationDirectory.com newsletter - Free!
Take
part in TranslationDirectory.com poll - your voice
counts!
|
