Booklets Available:

Business Writing Skills: 3 Quick & Easy Improvements You can Make Today

This booklet aims to get you better results from your written messages. And it aims to make the process quick and easy. 

By focusing on three key techniques, you can start strengthening your writing today.

Learn about these three techniques in about 10 minutes. Add an hour to practice, and you're on your way to improving your business writing skills. Your readers will find your messages:

• Easier to read
• More persuasive
• More effective

Business Writing Skills: 3 Quick & Easy Improvements You can Make Today gives you the essentials and nothing more. Just the three techniques, some examples of their use, and a short practice document.

Concise. Quick. Easy. If you manage or lead, better business writing skills -- and better results -- are just minutes away.

Organizational Communication Flows: How to Make the Most of Upward, Downward, & Lateral Communication in Organizations

In this concise booklet (about 10 minutes of reading time, eight standard pages in print format) we look at the four main types of communication flow in organizations, whether in businesses or not-for-profit organizations:

First, downward, or enabling, communication that moves instructions or instructional information down or through a hierarchy. It's the type of communication we use when we want to get something done.

Second, upward, or compliance, communication that provides feedback to the people who originate downward communication. It allows us to report to the people above us in the hierarchy.

Third, lateral, or coordinating, communication that moves between peers to maintain or improve operational efficiency.

Fourth, the grapevine, which fills in gaps in official communication and provides answers to unaddressed questions.

Next time you set out to communicate something important, spend a moment reflecting on the types of communication available to you, and how you can use them.

Understanding that there are different forms of communication, and that each has a distinct set of functions and characteristics, is the first step toward mastery of organizational communication.

Organizational Communication Flow: How to Make the Most of Upward, Downward, & Lateral Communication in Organizations is one of a series of booklets designed to help you focus immediately on specific business communication challenges and opportunities. Written for leaders and managers, it aims to give you the essence of one important issue in just 10 minutes of reading. Watch for new titles coming out soon.

Click Here to get sample pages of Organizational Communication Flow from Amazon.com (look for the button that says "Send sample now" on the right side of the page).

About the author
These booklets were written by Robert F. Abbott, a veteran writer and publisher who specializes in business communication. He wrote A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results (Word Engines Press, 2000, and also has written numerous booklets and articles. Many first appeared in his weekly online newsletter, Abbott's Communication Letter, published between 2000 and 2006.

Earlier, he owned and operated The Newsletter Company, which wrote and published custom newsletters for companies in various industries. In addition, he's been a radio news writer and announcer, a farmer, and a construction worker. He lives in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada and actively participates in the management of non-profit organizations.