Is writing in English to grow your business your next step?

It’s hard enough pushing “publish” in our native language, let alone in another language. But if now is the time for you to reach a wider audience for your business, then it’s also time to build up your confidence in writing in English.

And of course you know that the best way to do that is by writing. But how to get started?

An easy way is by trying a technique mentioned in the last Trunk article: copying out a paragraph and really paying attention to the expressions, structures and style.

While writing out the text, ask yourself questions such as: “What word would I have put here?” or “Why does this expression work better?” or “Why did the writer say it like this?”.

Active copying – preferably by hand to activate those hand-brain links – highlights how English is really used in everyday writing. Over time this noticing helps to improve your writing and to develop a feel for the kind of English you can use to spread your own message.

Where to find models for your active copying? Start with your favourite bloggers in your field of business so that you’re working with interesting content plus the language and style that are relevant to you.

And the most important thing to really make this technique effective is to try and do it several times a week. As active copying doesn’t take much time, you could make it part of your morning routine. I’ve been doing that for a while now to improve my writing in French and it’s becoming easier to get verb endings and gender right.

For more quick and easy ideas on developing your business writing in English, subscribe to The Trunk.

Back to The Trunk