CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

—Benjamin Franklin

Why does writing matter? Well, for one, as our world becomes increasingly digitalized, your written image is your public image. By that I mean most of the people you do business with, connect with, or even sit in class with don’t see you in person. They see you in your words—their first, and sometimes only, impression of you comes from what you write.

That written image can come from email, text or instant messaging, or even in a blog post or comments. It can be the replies you give to questions your employees ask. It can be your written reports—or the writing that you do for a PowerPoint presentation you upload online. No matter what ...

Get Zen and the Art of Business Communication now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.