Professionals in engineering, IT, and science should have good business writing skills. To get support, funding, and adoption, it's important to explain complex ideas to non-experts. Much of your business writing will be to persuade or educate. This means your writing must be understood and motivate action from your readers. This post shares tips to help technical thinkers master business writing.

Know Your Audience
As an expert in your field, your knowledge exceeds that of your readers. Resist the urge to dive too deep into technical details. Your goal is not to impress your readers with your intelligence. Your goal is to help them understand what you can do for them and instill confidence in you. Think carefully about what your audience needs to understand to make decisions and take action. Shape your writing to speak to their level of knowledge. It is good to examine what you write and ask if a freshman or sophomore in high school would understand it.

Structure and Organize Carefully
Good structure is crucial when communicating complicated technical matters. Use section headings, bulleted lists, charts, and graphics to make complex information digestible. Logically walk readers through your points. Help them follow along with clear sequence and transitions.

Here are a few practical steps for creating good structure and organization. Break up your long sentences which contain more than three steps or processes by using bulleted lists. Delete redundant clauses such as "for the project" or "on behalf of the client." For complex ideas that require logical steps, break the ideas down into subheadings and separate paragraphs.

Simplify Language, but not Concepts
Avoid overly complex words and sentences when writing for non-technical audiences. But do not oversimplify or omit important nuances in the concepts. Find ways to accurately convey the essence using straightforward language. It is sometimes helpful to use metaphors and similes to compare complex ideas with more common images. Find big words in your writing and ask yourself if a smaller word will do. Avoid using industry cliches and jargon. Find new and interesting ways to say the same thing, but in a different way. Seek feedback to ensure you have stuck to the core ideas.

Emphasize Practical Applications
Technical thinkers get energized solving real-world problems. When writing for business audiences, play to this strength. Show how your technical insights can make processes more efficient and methods more useful. Demonstrate the impact of your expertise. For example, you could explain that a "water hammer is when fluid is forced to stop or change direction suddenly, such as when a valve closes or a hydrant opens abruptly, therefore causing a water line to collapse or leak at bolted joints." That last sentence is long and overly explanatory. A better way to explain water hammer is "Water hammer happens when fluid is suddenly forced to stop or change direction. It can cause a water line to collapse or leak."

Technical experts have so much valuable wisdom to share if they can articulate it to others. Technical thinkers can become adept at business writing. Focus on audience, structure, language, and application. 

You are an A/E/C professional marketer. Has your company pressured you to develop a proposal for a project you knew was un-winable? It is frustrating to put time, creativity, and effort into what you know will be an un-winable proposal. Yet, most of us do it regularly. But you do not have to stay in this rut!

For A/E design and construction companies, it's crucial to determine if a project is win-able. But how can you gauge whether a project is truly "win-able?" Let's delve into the key factors that help answer this question.

Established Relationships Matter:
One of the first signs that a project might be win-able is if the project owner is familiar with your firm. Have they talked to one of your firm leaders or project managers recently? By recently, I mean within the past 6 months. Having a good initial connection or ongoing dialogue can lead to a successful collaboration. To increase the odds of winning, start by communicating well and building relationships.

Track Record of Success:
To determine if your firm can win a project, consider if you've completed a similar project for the same owner in the past five years. This showcases your ability to meet their expectations and deliver on your promises. A successful track record can instill confidence in the project owner that your firm is a reliable choice.

Alignment of Expertise:
Does your firm have the skills and expertise that align with the requirements of the project? If the answer is yes, it enhances your chances of winning the project. Just because your people say they "can" does not mean they "should." To stand out, it's important to demonstrate your knowledge and abilities with similar projects.

The Preferred Company:
Sometimes, project owners may have a preferred firm in mind. To decide if your firm can win, we need to discover good reasons for the owner to think about other options. This could be due to cost, unique expertise, or a specific aspect of your proposal that sets you apart. Identifying and addressing these factors can tilt the odds in your favor. But you have to be able to do something the preferred company cannot do or prove you do it better!

Understanding the Purpose:
In addition to technical qualifications, it's important to understand the project's driving forces and purpose. To increase your chances of winning the project, your firm needs to meet its requirements and objectives. Understanding the purpose of the project means going beyond the technical. It means answering the "why." Why is the owner doing this project?

In summary, determining the win-ability of a project involves several factors. Build relationships. Demonstrate past success. Prove your expertise. Communicate your differentiators. Understand and communicate the project's purpose. Evaluate these factors carefully when making a project pursuit decision. If you can execute on these factors, your project win-ability dramatically increases.