Best Business Verbs

Best Business Verbs This one paragraph contains errors in business verbs. Find and correct them. The authors will be holding a discussion about registration, to better give instruction to the participants who have to make a choice between which sessions to attend. (27 words) Solution: The authors will discuss registration, to better instruct the participants who have to choose which sessions to attend. (18 words) This is a 33% reduction in length in one sentence. Envision the impact on a long document! Explanation: These are smothered verbs. There were 6 unnecessary words in that single sentence. Un-smothering your verbs is an opportunity to greatly improve your business writing. Active, vibrant, un-smothered verbs bring both vitality and clarity to your writing. Smothered verbs are action words that are buried in a group of other words. Eliminating the other words creates a clearer, more forceful sentence. Smothering phrases often begin with a form of be, give, have, make or take. The noun in the phrase often ends with -ion or -ment. Here are some examples of smothered verbs with their clearer alternatives: have a suspicion / suspect make an agreement / agree hold a discussion / discuss give instruction to / instruct make a choice / choose Would you like to learn more about how business verbs can bring great clarity to your business writing? Download this guide: hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(41482, 'a37e9762-db23-46bf-8160-a7053c1f180c', {}); Hone your skills in these business writing courses: Business Grammar Effective Business Writing Techniques