Showing

Object:To receive invaluable feedback within your time constraints for the most professional copy possible and for long-term improvement of your writing.

Showing your writing to other people is perhaps the most underrated aspect of the writing process. You probably pass your writing around, asking coworkers or friends how it sounds. Your readers peruse the pages and hand back the document. “Good,” they say. Or, “It’s okay but I don’t know what you mean in that third line there.” You thank them, make a few changes, and send off the document.

This approach has one benefit: self-satisfaction. After all, another person likes your writing, so it must be good. So what if that person is as looped into your industry’s tangle of jargon and tired word use as you are? So what if that person isn’t an editor? And so what if that person doesn’t know a passive from a misplaced modifier, or a colon from a comma?

A better idea: get solid, objective feedback that can provide a cornucopia of information to help you improve your document and gain critical insights into your writing skill. Without it, your writing becomes anemic and dry, withering like last summer’s fruit.

Given the harried pace of your work life, try to receive feedback at two times.
1. After you’ve finished editing your document

Most likely you write and rewrite your letter in record speed, then rush to fling it in the fax machine or mailbox or zap it through the E-mail wires. Still, you do have time to show your document. Consider this scenario.

Scene: You’re heading for the home stretch with your letter. The phone’s ringing, two of your associates have signaled that they must talk, and you have another letter to write. You check your watch. The mail pickup is in 30 minutes. Yet you still aren’t secure about this letter. It’s an apology to an important client. What should you do?

At this point, give your letter to an associate who can quickly correct content or style problems. Either input the changes yourself, or have your editor make corrections directly on the computer. The document that ultimately reaches the client’s desk will be markedly better.

Don’t stop here. Save both the original and the edited versions and compare them later. This will give you insight into your writing strengths and weaknesses so that you need less editing help the next time around.

At times, you can leisurely assemble your document, writing and rewriting it one day and showing it the next. Be sure you get the most from your feedback, as in this scenario.

Scene: On the airplane home, you wrote a short report discussing the conference you just attended. You get to work the next day and read what you’ve written. It seems okay, but you want a second opinion. After all, this report might determine whether the company sends employees to the conference next year. You notice a coworker sitting at her desk flipping through some papers. She’s a pretty good writer and doesn’t look too busy. You ask her for feedback.

Rather than have her mark up the paper or tell you what changes to make, have her discuss the writing problems with you. Perhaps some of her corrections are subjective — she just happens to like one style better than another. Ultimately, you should decide. Perhaps some of her edits are rooted in writing principles. Write these down so you’ll remember them next time. Finally, some of her suggestions may be based on the company’s style. If so, determine whether these are your organization’s bad habits or savvy decisions about correct wording.

2. After you’ve written and sent numerous documents

The all-at-once method is an extremely helpful way to receive valuable feedback. Show several of your documents to a coworker, friend, or other editor. This approach is especially useful when you can’t receive feedback immediately after you’ve written your document:

Scene: You recently finished a proposal. Because of the deadline, your manager made changes and sent the copy to your potential customer. You didn’t discuss why he made those changes; you didn’t even see the finished copy. Actually, for the past month or two, you’ve written numerous letters and reports and haven’t received feedback about any of them.

You call a friend from the communications department to ask if he has a half hour to review your writing. “Not this afternoon,” your friend says, explaining that he has a tight deadline. “How about Friday? Around 3:00?”You make a date. When you get together, you get an overview of your good and bad habits and make a note to meet with your friend in a month or two for another review.