Regardless of job title, your communications must be clear and effective
The average person loses 7.4 hours each week due to inadequate communications (Grammarly). Not to mention, poor communications waste up to 57% of salaries (Axios HQ). Even if “Communications” is not part of your job title, odds are you are still sending and receiving documents and emails on a daily basis. These messages must be clear, engaging and succinct.
Using a writing tool like Microsoft (MS) Editor to help you review these communications can help you clearly share ideas, quickly progress on projects and confidently deliver on your tasks – so time and money is not wasted.
The perks of checking your work with MS Editor:
1. Work more effectively and efficiently: Save time by using MS Editor to write clear, effective communication. Editor helps you quickly make impactful word choices, allowing you to focus on your work rather than browsing the Internet for the perfect word. Going beyond the traditional spell-check feature, it will find specific words or phrases within your text, underline them, and offer suggestions based on your current Language settings to improve grammar and sentence structure.
2. Facilitate collaboration: Share clear messages globally using words that are easily translated with MS Editor’s suggestions. Editor’s collaborative features also allow you and your team to edit documents together with real-time co-authoring in your web browser. If you’d rather not see your co-worker’s presence or changes immediately, you can open the document in your Word desktop app and new changes will be seen once you and your co-authors save the document.
3. Customization that fits your needs: Change how MS Editor corrects and formats your text in the settings, including formality, vocabulary and conciseness. Editor will help you find any words or phrases that may be offensive and non-inclusive. In addition to highlighting the term, Editor also suggests acceptable alternatives.
- Word: File > Options > Proofing
- Outlook: File > Options > Mail > Spelling and Autocorrect > Writing Style > Select Settings (scroll down through the list to browse options)
How to access MS Editor in MS Word and Outlook:
- Desktop app: Open the Word or Outlook desktop app > Select the Review tab > Click Editor
- Web-based app: Open your Edge browser > Go to www.office.com > Open Word or Outlook > Select the Review tab > Click Editor
Helpful tips:
- MS Editor does not catch everything. Always proofread before sending a message.
- If you do not want to use the Editor feature or specific features (like ignoring words in uppercase), turn any of them off in your preference settings.
Whether it’s in your job description or not, communication is a crucial aspect of every role. Your emails, messages, documents and all other communications should be clear, compelling and engaging. Using a tool like MS Editor will ensure your communications are grammatically accurate and able to be understood and appreciated by your target audience.
Need an extra hand with your internal communications to boost engagement and support your bottom line?
Pivot Strategies offers expert communications planning, training and strategic execution to ensure your messages make an impact. Learn more.
