Importance of Writing Skills

In various context, one can state that "If it is not in writing, it did not happen.” The Writing is an important mode of communication especially in the context of an organisation. In organisations, written communication is very important because decisions and discussions need to be referred to and used as evidence for establishing accountability at a later date. In this chapter, we will discuss how things in writing can improve personal effectiveness and that of an organisation.

With most successful people, there is one thing in common their habit of keeping a written record

Various purposes for which the prepared notes may be helpful are:

- Daily to do list which helps in prioritising work and also acts as a reminder list.
- Preparation of data or strategy points in writing before attending an important business meeting. This kind of preparedness helps in better presentation and improves efficiency and effectiveness.
- Agenda of the meeting is prepared in writing and circulated to all members for the meeting. This helps in time management and ensuring that all issues are dealt with.
- Action points that emerged during the meeting are written down in the form of minutes for future reference and follow up.
- Things in writing act as evidence and record in case needed in the future in case of litigation or fixing accountability. Similarly successful senior people, while discussing issues, expect others to make notes. Minutes are drawn clearly spelling the issue discussed, decision, target date, responsibility, etc.

Looking at my old concept note file I found a note from one of my colleagues stating, "If it is not in writing, it did not happen" This was stated to lay stress on documenting the efforts of sales customers, etc. Today as per a new system, these things are people, calls they made, discussion they had with the prospective documented in Sales Mantra - a CRM Software which our company is using.

Advantages of keeping things in writing:

I strongly feel that writing gives clarity. Writing helps to prioritise and reinforce our commitment to the action. The writing can be for problems, work to do, job profile, travel plan, agreements minutes of the meeting, action plan and any other issue.

Once we start writing down the problem or anything else we are working on, the picture become clear. We are able to see the solutions and options available with a greater clarity. Decision making is helped when options are weighed against the positives and the negatives of the proposed action. This helps in taking the right decision. If one looks at various benefits of keeping things in writing, some of them can be summed up as under:

- Clarity in understanding the situation.
- Helps in prioritising and better time management
- Reinforce our commitment to the task
- Automatic reminder that one needs to address the written problem or work.
- Clarity provides alternative solution with their pros and cons
- Helps in better comparison and faster decision making.

If an issue is in writing with options and solutions, it helps in value addition from seniors or colleagues. In similar circumstances one can refer back to the written documents and take appropriate decision.

Things in writing become more important and necessary when the work is done by a team. It provides clarity on roles of every team member, their time lines, besides bringing everyone on the same wave length.

In fact, the whole idea of writing this book emerged from the concept file which I had developed and created in the last 6/7 years during our leadership and training meets.

Record Keeping:

The important result that flows from the concept of keeping things in writing is 'record keeping'. A suitable system should be created wherein papers, documents in writing, are filed properly and can always be called upon for reference or to substantiate the basis on which any specific decision was taken.