In Form no. 25

Writing Wrist Watch

Ángeles Delgado Azqueta

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I still haven't forgotten the Olympic tennis final between Rafa Nadal and Fernando González. In an entertaining, exciting and much anticipated match, Rafa did not let us down. Rafa's play is based on a series of skills and strategies that long hours of practice have turned into winning shots.

One of the most important features of Rafa's tennis is how he moves his wrist on some of his shots - let's call it his 'wrist-play'. No tennis player can be successful without learning to make this movement correctly. Getting it wrong can gift a point to an opponent at a critical moment in a match, and a wrist injury can spell the beginning of the end of a player's career.

Good 'wrist-play' is not just crucial if you are playing tennis, it's also important when you are writing. Whether you are sitting in front of your computer or a blank piece of paper, you'll need good 'wrist-play' to transmit your ideas, proposals and messages.

If Rafa Nadal can control the movement of his wrist and turn every shot into a winner, how can you do the same and start to hit aces in your business writing?

I've heard that Rafa practises and repeats each shot more than eight hours a day. How much time do you normally spend preparing a document? At most you may write a draft version, once. OK, that's better than nothing. It's a good start, time well spent, but not enough.

So, you too need to practise your writing 'wrist-play' over and over until it becomes automatic. You'll know that you've practised enough to hit winners like the man from Majorca when you:

1. Ask yourself what you want your document to achieve before starting to write.
2. Choose simple words and don't waste time looking for long and unusual alternatives in the dictionary.
3. Keep your sentences short enough for the average adult reader to understand them easily.
4. Read each paragraph you have written before starting the next.
5. Imagine how your reader will react (Make sure you don't see your reader saying, 'Aagh... This is incomprehensible!')
6. Can find the key information at a glance (and even your boss can't miss it!).
7. Need to read your document once only to understand it.

Take advantage of every opportunity to practise your 'wrist-play' and start turning all your documents into winners. If you'd like some extra coaching, just sign up for our Open Course Escritura Eficaz en la Empresa (September 29-30). You'll find more information at: www.readmatthews.com/opencourses/ocescrita.html

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