Writing Tips for Remote Workers (And Everyone Else) - Deepstash
Unlocking your Creative Potential

Learn more about communication with this collection

Techniques for brainstorming and generating new ideas

The power of collaboration and feedback in the creative process

How to recognize and overcome limiting beliefs

Unlocking your Creative Potential

Discover 65 similar ideas in

It takes just

8 mins to read

Writing Matters for any Worker

Writing Matters for any Worker

This is one of the first pieces of advice people give to those seeking remote work.

When you work remotely, a few misplaced words can become an occupational hazard. Every word you type (or donโ€™t) is important in conveying your ideas and communicating effectively with your colleagues.

459

3.81K reads

Accessible Language

  • Use of caps lock, emojis, italics and tildes (~) to make your language flowery, fun and human is a great idea for remote working. You can also use memes and gif images, provided they are not offensive to anyone.
  • Robot speak is not a good way to freely collaborate with your remote peers. Use simple words, and keep it on the casual side, skipping the inaccessible and stilted language. You can also opt for contractions like writing isnโ€™t instead of is not.

418

1.77K reads

Be Clear And Concise

  • Do not obscure your message by words that are there to decorate the sentence and make it sound wordy while camouflaging what you mean.
  • Make good use of qualifiers ("I think, In my opinion") while not coming across as a perpetually confused person. Donโ€™t use qualifiers while making a strong point.
  • While writing documentation, it is prudent to avoid jargon and acronyms.
  • Use complete words and sentences. Shortcuts and acronyms block any actual communication, acting as roadblocks. On the same lines, avoid cliches, idioms and any idiotic sounding phrases.

444

881 reads

Getting To The Point

While trying to convince your team, it is a good idea not to keep rambling and get to the point.

Lead with your key point, making the main point clear in the subject line or in the first sentence. Use bold fonts if required.

419

1.15K reads

Write Meeting Notes

  • After the end of the video or audio call, the virtual gathering may have to be documented as minutes of the meeting (MOM) or simply the meeting notes.
  • Pre-meeting Prep: Instead of just writing the agenda, it is a good idea to write the key objectives and add context to keep people up to speed. If there are participants across time zones, make sure they would also be able to follow.
  • Lead your meeting notes with key takeaways, instead of the entire chronological script of the meeting.

425

848 reads

Write Specific Requests

Remote working has mainly two modes of communication, email type asynchronous communication, or an audio/video call.

  • Synchronous Communication is real-time and is best for discussing job performance, talking casually, brainstorming and to fire someone.
  • Asynchronous Communication is deferred (like email) and is best for important announcements, in-depth discussions, feedback and sharing of ideas.

One has to choose the right medium to be able to successfully request something specific. Also, find the balance of being gracious while making a specific request, yet be clear and explicit.

401

643 reads

Use The Active Voice

This is a literary device that makes your words interesting and confident, the direct approach is great for a business setting.

Saying โ€˜We made a Partnership with XYZโ€™ is a better way to convey the deal, than โ€˜A partnership was made with XYZโ€™.

405

796 reads

Write Internal Memos

Company-wide emails are an opportunity to use your storytelling skills and keep things interesting and engaging to the wide audience.

  • Use active voice and sentence variations and stay with the companyโ€™s wider goals/mission.
  • Make sure there are no redundant paragraphs in your memo. If a paragraph is not conveying a good idea, remove it or incorporate it somewhere else. Place your paragraphs in chronological order, keeping your story linear.
  • Make sure the ending is satisfying and the discussion does not keep going.

391

442 reads

Write Post-Mortems

Summarizing a projectโ€™s success or failure is a great way to reflect within the group. It helps to be chronological and detailed, describing the impact, learning and conclusion.

Understand that writing always leaves room for (mis)interpretation, and make sure you are using emphatic words that convey kindness, honesty, positivity and team spirit.

402

530 reads

Use Positive Language

Positivity is to be used, and negative language to be avoided. One should take up the opportunity to lift others up.

Also, avoid negative assumptions with accusing sentences formations that can backfire in minutes. Better to ask neutral and positive questions, in a cheerful way rather than assuming the worst.

406

506 reads

Write Feedback

  • Feedback is something to be done carefully, and it is a good practice to show gratitude and appreciation for all the hard work done by them, highlighting their positive aspects.
  • Feedback has to be constructive, honest and actionable, and not negative or disconcerting.
  • Provide the background information and context before providing the feedback, so that the groundwork is done in the recipientโ€™s mind. Itโ€™s a great idea to have a face-to-face conference call.
  • Do not act like a robot and provide consecutive negative and positive feedback, as it risks spinning the recipient's head.

441

466 reads

Honesty and Transparency

There is increased isolation, anxiety and paranoia due to remote work, and many of the teammates can assume the worst in certain situations.

Keep your conversations transparent and honest, and keep motivating the teammates.

393

537 reads

Before You Press Send

  • Proofread your message before you hit the send button. This you can read twice.
  • Spellcheck your message to comb any unintentional spelling mistakes.
  • If possible, get the document checked by someone for a second opinion or to find any blind spots
  • Try to wait a while before sending, and come back to it later, editing it if necessary.

399

468 reads

CURATED BY

john_mq

โ€œTalent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.โ€, Michael Jordan

stash-superman-illustration

Explore the Worldโ€™s

Best Ideas

200,000+ ideas on pretty much any topic. Created by the smartest people around & well-organized so you can explore at will.

An Idea for Everything

Explore the biggest library of insights. And we've infused it with powerful filtering tools so you can easily find what you need.

Knowledge Library

Powerful Saving & Organizational Tools

Save ideas for later reading, for personalized stashes, or for remembering it later.

# Personal Growth

Take Your Ideas

Anywhere

Organize your ideas & listen on the go. And with Pro, there are no limits.

Listen on the go

Just press play and we take care of the words.

Never worry about spotty connections

No Internet access? No problem. Within the mobile app, all your ideas are available, even when offline.

Get Organized with Stashes

Ideas for your next work project? Quotes that inspire you? Put them in the right place so you never lose them.

Join

2 Million Stashers

4.8

5,740 Reviews

App Store

4.7

72,690 Reviews

Google Play

Sean Green

Great interesting short snippets of informative articles. Highly recommended to anyone who loves information and lacks patience.

โ€œ

Ashley Anthony

This app is LOADED with RELEVANT, HELPFUL, AND EDUCATIONAL material. It is creatively intellectual, yet minimal enough to not overstimulate and create a learning block. I am exceptionally impressed with this app!

โ€œ

Shankul Varada

Best app ever! You heard it right. This app has helped me get back on my quest to get things done while equipping myself with knowledge everyday.

โ€œ

samz905

Donโ€™t look further if you love learning new things. A refreshing concept that provides quick ideas for busy thought leaders.

โ€œ

Ghazala Begum

Even five minutes a day will improve your thinking. I've come across new ideas and learnt to improve existing ways to become more motivated, confident and happier.

โ€œ

Giovanna Scalzone

Brilliant. It feels fresh and encouraging. So many interesting pieces of information that are just enough to absorb and apply. So happy I found this.

โ€œ

Laetitia Berton

I have only been using it for a few days now, but I have found answers to questions I had never consciously formulated, or to problems I face everyday at work or at home. I wish I had found this earlier, highly recommended!

โ€œ

Jamyson Haug

Great for quick bits of information and interesting ideas around whatever topics you are interested in. Visually, it looks great as well.

โ€œ

Read & Learn

20x Faster

without
deepstash

with
deepstash

with

deepstash

Access to 200,000+ ideas

โ€”

Access to the mobile app

โ€”

Unlimited idea saving & library

โ€”

โ€”

Unlimited history

โ€”

โ€”

Unlimited listening to ideas

โ€”

โ€”

Downloading & offline access

โ€”

โ€”

Personalized recommendations

โ€”

โ€”

Supercharge your mind with one idea per day

Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.

Email

I agree to receive email updates