Last week, I read an amusing essay in the New York Times about the increasingly popular use of exclamation points in business writing, especially e-mail and texts. BE—before e-mail—any serious writer wouldn’t consider using them unless the comments were truly, well, exclamatory: “I never!” or “Goodness gracious!”

But AE—after e-mail—we’ve naturally gravitated toward using this happy-looking slash + period. I say naturally because after you’ve received your first 1,000 e-mails (which, sadly, can take less than a week), you can’t help but sense the cold, flatness of the medium. It drains the life out of the most animated prose. Back in writing school, they teach that if you need to use exclamation points, you probably need to rewrite and make your copy livelier. But, frankly, who’s got that much time? Today, my students balk at proper grammar and punctuation; I can’t imagine suggesting that they take the time to make each word s-i-n-g. In an ideal world, that would be grand. In our real world, one or two exclamation points seem to work just fine. (Emphasis on “one or two.” More on that in a minute.)

Reluctantly, as though they were confessing to a dark secret, several famous authors cited in the essay shared their predilection for exclamation points. Some did suggest restraint, however, and that’s what I teach as well. “More than one or two in an e-mail,” I often say, “and your e-mail looks more like a teenager’s diary than a business document. It won’t be taken seriously.”

The essay also quotes the co-author of one of the best books on the subject, Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better, by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe. “The exclamation point is the quickest and easiest way to kick things up a notch,” Schwalbe says, “but not if you’re angry. Only happy exclamation points.”

Good point!

When do you use exclamation points? Are you a binger or is restraint more your style?

Have you noticed that 800-pound gorilla in your office? You know, the one that hovers in the corner, breathing its stale breath across just about every desk. Most people keep their heads down, not wanting to make eye contact with this killer—killer of sales, deals, promotions, and respect.

That behemoth is also known as bad business writing. Not many people want to face this hairy, scary creature—it just seems too big to tackle. But honestly, the solution is simpler than you may think. (And ignoring it can prove disastrous!)

Recent articles in newspapers and trade magazines lament how e-mail and texting have strangled our ability to produce effective business writing. And to some extent, that’s true. But the problem has been around much longer and goes even deeper. I believe the root of bad business writing stems from a misunderstanding of the writing process.

Why didn’t we learn this in school?
That’s what students and clients often ask me. I’m not sure why, but somehow we came away with the idea that writing is a compendium of grammar rules we keep vaguely in mind as we string words together. But the writing process is much more organic than that. It includes an understanding that in order to produce a polished piece, for example, we must allow ourselves to write a dreadful first draft—something most of my students think is a waste of time, a sign of their inability to write, or both.

I understand. I used to feel that way too. Then Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird, cured me in an instant when I read her chapter entitled “Sh**ty First Drafts. Click! Just like that I turned off that ornery voice in my head. She gave me permission to write those awful early drafts and taught me that they are simply the means of getting my thoughts down so I can make them better later. Which brings up another misunderstood tenet of the writing process: editing. (More on that next time.)

Start today!
Do you worry about your first draft not being perfect? Let me be your Anne Lamott and assure you that 99 percent of great writers, writers you admire, start with dreadful first drafts. Those lousy drafts are your best work at that moment. They are the best anyone can do in that early phase of the writing process.

OK, now try to write your first drafts fast. When you do, you’ll:

1. Have more time to edit (because good writing is really good editing).
2. Tap into more creativity. (That’s how the brain works!)

So, write those fast—and dreadful—first drafts, knowing that you’re off to a great start. That’s your first step in making friends with that 800-pound gorilla—and increasing your sales, deals, promotions, and respect.