Why It Matters: Writing in Business

“Oh my gosh, what a disaster!” Dennis thought. Dennis had been placed in charge of booking a speaker for his office’s diversity event, and the major speaker from Diversity NOW hadn’t shown up. He was now scrambling to figure out what may have gone wrong, all under the watchful eye of his boss, Carmen.

As Dennis checked his email, he found that he had, in fact, reached out to Rennata, the speaker he had booked:

Date: 4/2/18

To: Rennata Johnson, CEO of Diversity NOW <rjohnson@diversitynow.com>

From: Dennis Hoffman <shoffman@qcom.com>

Re: Diversity Day

I am Dennis Hoffman and my boss, Carmen Jacobson, asked me to get a hold of you about Diversity day later in this month. You may or may not know that our company is working on a proactive stance about diversity in the workplace. Last year we put on sessions and skits ourselves. Several employees enjoyed the day but did not seem to fully appreciate the implications for the work day. We are so thankful that you agreed to help out since you are a formal outsider. We’re going to set aside the entire day of April 23. The first session starts at 9 a.m. There will be lunch and a the late afternoon session goes only until 3:00 p.m. The brochures need to be published by one week prior to that date. See you then!

Dennis

Dennis suddenly realizes that Rennata never sent a response back—confirming or otherwise. He thinks to himself, “Yes, I probably should have remembered to check to see if Rennata had sent the title for her talk back in time. I did get a bit busy and forget that. But how could Carmen think the rest of this was my fault?”

In this module, we’ll discuss the importance of writing—and discuss appropriate ways to write—in business.

Look back at Dennis’s email. Do you see areas where he could improve this email?

Let’s dive in and learn the skills you need to ensure a much better outcome in your work.