There are all kinds of different writing styles, but business writing is about getting your message across in a clear, focused and engaging way.

At work you can call, email or instant message; but the most effective business writers know when NOT to write.

Before you write anything, the most important question to ask yourself is what's your aim? What is your communication trying to achieve?

When composing a message, it's also important to consider how you want your readers to feel.

BLOT is an acronym that highlights the key difference between academic writing and business writing.

When you write, you're generally either asking for something or providing something. Either way, it helps to write down your aim.

SCAN is an acronym explaining that when people are reading from their screens, you need to formulate your message in a certain way.

Once you know about the five w's you'll soon be stating your aim more clearly.

This shows you how to do a quick exercise that checks your writing is relevant to your audience and your aim clear.

Top down writing is about creating a logical order for your content, based on your aim.

A sure way to bury your aim is to write using vague phrases. This film explains how to get rid of them, thus clarifying your aim and reducing your writing by 30%.

Amiable personality types tends to be non-confrontational and prefer a warm and friendly approach. This film suggests the best way to write to them.

Analytical personalities tend to be detail oriented and to like a lot of information to reach a decision. This film suggests the best way to write to them.

Each of us will tend to write the way we ourselves most prefer. This film is about tailoring your message to your audience.

Buzzwords are similar to cliches and tend to be specific to the world of business. There's a danger cliches may confuse your audience as often they are vague.

Cliches are words, phrases, and figures of speech, that through over-use have become a bit tedious.

There are many unwritten rules within every culture that dictate what is considered good communication.

Driver personalities tend to be very task oriented and to not need much detail to reach decisions, this course suggests the best way to write to them.

Expressive personality types tend to be big-picture thinkers to whom personal rapport is very important. This film suggests the best way to write to them.

Jargon may be helpful to show what you know, but you're writing to get your message across clearly, and jargon can get in the way.

We all fall into four broad, personality types that each prefer to communicate in a certain way.

Questions are a great way to connect with your audience and can help you to get inside the mind of your reader.

This film explains the importance of writing in the active voice and how to keep your writing active whenever possible.

The previous section looked at defining your aim. This section examines the kind of approach to take.

An explanation of the buried verb and why we shouldn't complicate our writing by using them.

Einstein said 'If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself.' A helpful reminder why we need to keep things simple and plain.

This film looks at some of the bad habits prevalent in business writing and explains why 'less is often more'.

Headings are the signposts within your writing that tell the reader where to find the information they need.

A paragraph is essentially a block of thought. To make them effective you want to be sure of a few things.

An effective sentence needs to be short and well constructed.

It doesn't matter how well-written or beautifully organised your message is, if nobody bothers to open it.

Research shows that business readers prefer writing that sounds personable and human.

The white space around your writing represents the room you give your reader to breathe and to consider your ideas.

Using 'reply all' isn't the only bad habit when it comes to email. This video investigates how to behave with email.

There's usually no way to recall an email with an embarrassing error in it. This video looks at the importance of checking before sending.

Your spellchecker will miss a surprising amount of mistakes., this video highlights what to look out for.

We've talked about a lot of tools to get your message across crisply and cleanly and to help you to connect with your audience in a more human way. Now it's time for you to practise.