Business Communications

The Three Step Writing Process

Busy communications life
Youll face a variety of communication assignments in your
career, both oral and written.

Some of your tasks will be routine, needing little more than jotting
down a few sentences on paper or keyboarding a brief e-mail
message.

Others will be more complex, requiring reflection, research, and

careful document preparation
Stand out

People are bombarded with messages at work

every day, so you want yours to stand out as
being well done.
Your messages must be:

Purposeful

Audience-centered

Concise
Purposeful:
Business messages provide information, solve a
problem, or request the resources necessary to
accomplish a goal.

Every message you prepare will have a specific

purpose.
Audience-Centered:
Business messages help audiences understand an
issue, collaborate on establishing a goal, or take some
action.

So every message you prepare must consider the

audiences point of view.
Concise:
Business messages respect everyones time by
presenting information clearly and efficiently.

Every message you prepare will be as short as it can

be without detracting from the subject.
Goal of business writing
The goal of effective business writing is to express
your ideas.

One of the best ways to do so is to follow a systematic

writing process.
What is the three-step writing
process?
The specific actions you take to write business
messages will vary from situation to situation, but
these generalized steps will help you write more
effective messages.

Step 1: Planning Step 2: Writing Step 3: Completing

Analyzing Organizing Revising
Investigating Composing Producing
Adapting Proofreading
1. Planning (brief summary):
Think about the fundamentals of your message.

Clarify your purpose in communicating, and analyze

audience members so that you can tailor your
message to their needs.

Gather the information that will inform, persuade, or

motivate your audience.
More planning (cont..)

Then adapt your message by selecting the channel

and medium that both suit your needs and meet your
audiences expectations.

And finally, establish a good relationship with your

audience.

Planning business messages is the focus of this

weeks lecture.
2. Writing (brief summary):
Once youve planned your message, organize your
ideas and being composing your first draft.

This is when you commit your thoughts to words,

create sentences and paragraphs, and select
illustrations and details to support your main idea.

Writing business messages will be the focus of next

weeks lecture.
3. Completing (brief summary...):

Now that you have your first draft, step back to

review the content and organization for overall
style, structure and readability.

Revise and rewrite until your message comes

across clearly and effectively;

then edit your message for details such as

grammar, punctuation and format.
Final steps (cont...)
Next produce your message, putting it into the form
that your audience will receive.

And finally, proof the final draft for typos, spelling

errors and other mechanical problems.

More details on this latter on in the semester

How does the three step process
work?
Because so many of our business messages are
composed under pressure and on a schedule that is
often anything but realistic, dividing your time among
the three steps can be a challenge.

In some cases, your audience may expect you to get

your message out in record timesometimes only
minutes after speaking with a client or attending a
meeting.

But even if you only have 30 minutes, try to give

yourself enough time to plan, write and complete your
message.
General rule of thumb
Try to use about half of your time for planningfor
deciding on purpose, getting to know your audience,
and immersing yourself in your subject matter.

Use less than a quarter of the time writing your

message.

Then use more than a quarter, whats left, for

completing your message.
That way you wont shortchange the important
steps of revising and proofreading.
Chart

Writing
Planning
Completing
Step 1: The Planning Process:
A) Analyzing your purpose and you Audience

For a business message to be effective, its purpose

and its audience must complement one another.

You must know enough about your purpose and

audience to shape your message in a way that serves
both.

So you begin planning your message by being as

specific as you can about the purpose of the message.

Then you analyze your audience as thoroughly as

possible.
Purpose shapes content
Business messages have specific purpose:

That purpose may be clear and straightforward, such as

placing an order

Or it may be more complex, such as convincing management

to hire more part time workers during the holiday season.

The overall purpose determines both the amount of

audience participation you need and the amount of
control you have over your message.
Define your purpose:
All business messages have one of the following
purposes:

to inform,

to persuade,

or to collaborate with your audience.

To inform:
To inform your audience, you need little interaction.

Audience members absorb the information and accept

or reject it, but they dont contribute to message
content.

You control the message.

To persuade:
To persuade your audience, you require a moderate
amount of participation.

You need to retain an adequate amount of message

control.
To collaborate with audience
members:
You need maximum participation.

Your control of the message is minimal because you

must adjust to new input and unexpected reactions.
Relationship between message purpose
and audience control
Audience Participation

High
Collaborate

Medium Persuade

Inform

Low

Low Medium High

Communicator Control
Defining specific purpose
To help you define the specific purpose of your
message, ask yourself what your audience should do
or think after receiving your message.

Then state your specific purpose as precisely as

possible, even identifying which audience members
should respond.
Questions to ask yourself about the
purpose of you message:

Is your purpose worth it: time & effort

Is your purpose realistic?

Is this the right time?

Is the right person delivering your message?

Is your purpose acceptable to your organization?

Develop an audience profile
Ask yourself some questions:

Who are your audience members?

What are their attitudes?
What do they need to know?
And why should they care?

The answers to these questions will indicate which

material youll need to cover and how to cover it.
Acquaintance or stranger?
If youre communicating with someone you know well,
audience analysis is relatively easy. You can predict
the personas reaction pretty well, without a lot of
research.

On the other hand, your audience could be made up of

strangerscustomers or suppliers youve never met, a
new boss or new employees, so youll have to learn
about the members of your audience before you can
adjust your message to serve them.
Things to look at when considering your
audience:

Identify the primary audience.

Determine audience size.

Determine audience composition.

Gauge your audiences level of understanding.

Estimate your audiences probable reaction.

B) Investigating necessary
information
When writing long, formal reports, you will
have to do research to locate and analyze all
of the information relevant to your purpose and
your audience.

We will talk about this and do some work with

this later in the term.
You can collect information
informally by:
Considering others viewpoints.

Browsing through company files.

Chatting with supervisors or colleagues.

Asking your audience for input.

Internet
The journalistic approach.
Check to see whether your message answers (the 5
Ws & H)

who
what
when
where
why
How

Many messages fail to pass the test.

C) Choose your medium

Finally, you need to select a medium that fit

your purpose and satisfy your audiences
expectations.
Selecting the best medium for your message
can make the difference between effective and
ineffective communication.
Different medias
The oral media includes media such as face-to-face
conversation, speeches, videotape, voice mail, phone
conversations, and so on.

The written media includes letters, memos, reports, bulletins etc.

The visual media includes pictures, mind maps, graphs etc.

The electronic media includes all of the above but in an

electronic format such as phone calls, teleconferencing,
videoconferencing, videos, voice mails emails, blogs, electronic
bulletins, PowerPoint presentation, graphics, computer
animations etc. . Thats why its called multimedia
Example of visual media: mind map
Example of visual media
Media richness
It is the value of a medium in a given
communication situation.

Richness is determined by a medias ability to:

Convey a message by means of more than one

informational cue (written, visual, verbal, vocal)
Facilitate feedback
Establish personal focus
Making a choice
Choose the richest media for non-routine, complex
messages.
Rich media
Use leaner media to communicate simple, routine messages.

Use rich media for complex messages, to extend and humanize

your presence throughout the organization, to communicate
caring to employees, and to gain employee commitment to
organizational goals.

Face-to-face communication is the richest medium because it is

personal, it provides both immediate verbal and nonverbal
feedback, and it conveys the emotion behind the message.

But its also one of the most restrictive media because you and
your audience must be in the same place at the same time.
Cultural differences
Some cultures tend to favor one channel over another.

For example, the US, Canada and Germany

emphasize written messages, whereas Japan
emphasizes oral messagesperhaps because its
high-context culture carries so much of the message in
nonverbal cues and between the lines
interpretations.
Home assignment (Imp!)
Read on the advantages & disadvantages of the different types of
media

What is brainstorming? What is mind mapping?

What are the direct & indirect approach to organizing your

messages?

How can you apply the direct & indirect approach towards writing:
i. Routine & Positive messages

ii. Negative messages

iii. Persuasive messages

Step 2: The Writing Stage
Messages should be clear so that the reader
or listener can understand it easily by using
words that familiar to the receiver of the
message

Choose precise, concrete, and familiar words

Construct effective sentences and paragraphs
The message should be clear in thought and
expression and should be specific rather than
general.

Use denotative rather than connotative words

Consideration means preparing every message with
the receiver in mind: try to put yourself in their place.
Be considerate, do not loose your temper, do not
accuse, do not charge them without evidence.

Emphasize positive pleasant facts

Use empathy and the you attitude

Choose non-discriminatory expressions
Step 3: Completing your business
messages
General points to note about Paragraphs

1. Paragraph point system: each point should have a separate paragraph and each paragraph
should have a point

2. Logical Arrangement: Paragraphs should be arranged in logical order of the points you want to
make

3. Proper transition: There should be a logical transitions between paragraphs to reflect the train
of thought

Paragraph Elements

1. Topic sentence: that introduces the main point/topic of the paragraph

2. Support Sentences: following sentences that either explains, justifies, or extends the topic
sentence

3. Transitional Elements: words or phrases that tie ideas together by showing how one thought is
related to another . Use connecting words such as and, therefore, in light of, despite of, on
the other hand, hence, nevertheless, however etc.
Use Technology to Complete your
message
Spell check, grammar check, thesaurus

Page layout, margins, page borders etc.

Paragraph formatting,

Type face (font style) e.g. times new romans, sans serif, Arial etc.

Type style e.g. bold, italics, underline, colours etc.

Add tables, pictures, graphs, other visual aids

Final PROOF READ and then distribute your message

Organisational Communication
(Traditional Paper Based)
Memos

Letters

Reports

Proposals
Memorandums (Memos)
Memo is short for memorandum (Latin) which means to mention, call to
mind, recount, relate

Traditionally it is used by organizations for internal communication

It is a short document that focuses on a single topic, usually requesting

information, demanding action, reports information in response to a
request etc.

It is an official document that is recorded/stored for record keeping

Depending upon the organization it has a specific format and will vary
from organization to organization but usually take the following general
template:
Letters
As opposed to memos letters are used for external
communication by organizations.

They usually are written on the organizations

letterhead with every organization having its own
format

They are more formal than memos

Letters are used for communicating with customers,

suppliers, government officials etc.
Reports
Organizational Communication (New
age Electronic Based)
Oral media

Primary oral communications media include

face-to-face conversation (the richest media),
telephone calls, speeches, presentations and
meetings.
Your choice between face-to-face
conversation and a phone call would depend
on audience location, message importance,
and your need for the sort of non-verbal
feedback that only body language can reveal.
Your purpose is to collaborate with
the audience
Small meetings, Conversations, and
Interviews.
In general, the smaller the audience, the
more interaction among the members.
If your purpose involves reaching a
decision or solving a problem, select an
oral medium geared toward a small
audience.
Also
Large meetings, conventions and
presentations.
At the opposite extreme are formal
presentations to large audiences, which are
common at events such as sales conventions,
shareholder meetings, and ceremonial
functions.
Their formality makes them inappropriate for
collaborative purposes that require audience
interaction.
Written media

Written messages take many forms. At

one end are the scribbled notes people
use to jog their own memories. At the
other end are long, formal reports that
rival magazines in graphic quality.
Advantages
Regardless of the form, written messages
have one big advantage.
They let you control and plan the message.
A written format is appropriate when the
information is complex, when a permanent
message is needed for future reference, when
the audience is large and geographically
dispersed, and when immediate interaction
with the audience is either unimportant or
undesirable.
Letters and memos

Most letters and memos are relatively

brief documents, generally one or two
pages.
Memos

The workhorses of business

communication, used for the routine day-
to-day exchange of information within an
organization.
Memo form:

In general, memos lack salutation. They

use a TO, FROM, DATE, and SUBJECT
heading to emphasize the needs of the
readers who usually have time only to
skim messages.
Good memos discuss only one topic
tone is conversational.
Letters

Letters frequently go to outsiders, and

they perform an important public
relations function in addition to
conveying a particular meaning.
Form letters

Many organizations rely on form letters

(and sometimes form memos) to save
time and money on routine
communications.
Boilerplates

A variation of the form letter is the

boilerplate, a standard paragraph that
can be selected to suit an occasion or
audience.
Three standard types

1) routine, good news, goodwill

messages
2) bad news messages
3) persuasive messages.
We will be spending at least a week,
sometimes more, on each of these
categories.
Reports and proposals.
Reports and proposals are factual, objective
documents that may be distributed to insiders
or outsiders, depending on their purpose and
subject. They come in many formats,
including preprinted forms, letters, memos,
and manuscripts. In length, they range from a
few to several hundred pages. They are
generally more formal in tone than a typical
business letter. We will be spending a number
of weeks on them, and you will be writing a
formal business report as your final project.
Electronic forms

In general, use electronic forms of

communication for speed, to overcome
time-zone barriers, and to reach a widely
dispersed audience personally.
Voice mail

Can be used to replace short memos

and phone calls that need no response.
Reduces paperwork.
Teleconferencing

An efficient alternative to face-to-face

meetings
Not good for negotiation.
Videotape

Often effective for getting motivational

messages out to a large number of
people.
Computer conferencing

Allows users to meet and collaborate in

real time while viewing and sharing
documents electronically.
We use this in this course when we chat
on MSN Messenger.
I can give students real time help at barely
any cost to either party.
Faxing

Good way of getting hard copies to

distant places, but remember, it lacks
privacy.
E-mail

Offers speed, low cost, increased access

to other employees.
Very useful tool, but be careful.
We can get careless with language on e-
mail.
You cant write in txt code on business e-
mail
U cn type txt mss in e-mail. U look s2pid
E-mail addresses
Also, if you use your private e-mail address for
business (including school business), make
sure you have an appropriate address.
Im not impressed receiving an e-mail from
Sexybabexxx@hotmail.
Or even Mangafan, meatnbunz, and you get
the picture. Save that for your friends, please.
Best is to have a professional address like one
from school or a company (my
connor@fillibabba.com address).
Website

Offers interactive communication through

hyperlinks, allowing readers to absorb
information non-sequentially.
They can take what they need and skip
everything else.
Disadvantages

Electronic forms have their

disadvantages, such as tactless remarks
causing tension.
Stupid e-mails get leaked to the media
all the time.
E-mail has the same privacy as a
postcard.
Remember that before you complain about
your boss!
Establishing a good relationship with
your audience
Think about who you are and who your
audience is.
Are you old friends with common interests, or are
you total strangers?
Are you equal in terms of status, experience, and
education, or are you clearly unequal?
Your answers to these questions will help give
you the right impression in your message.
Be yourself!

Probably the best thing you can do to

establish a good relationship with your
audience is to be yourself.
People can spot falseness very quickly,
so just be you and be sincere.
Things to remember

Remember to:
use the you attitude,
emphasize the positive,

establish your credibility,

be polite,

use bias-free language

project the companys image

Use the You Attitude:

That means speaking and writing in

terms of your audiences wishes,
interests, hopes and preferences.
You can adopt the you attitude by
replacing terms that refer to yourself and
your company with terms that refer to
your audience.
For example

Instead of saying:
To help us process this order, we must ask
for another copy of the requisition.
Say this:
So that your order can be filled promptly,
please send another copy of the requisition.
And

Instead of
We are pleased to announce out new flight
schedule from Atlanta to New York, which is
every hour on the hour.
Use this:
You can now take a plane from Atlanta to
New York every hour on the hour.
Finally

Instead of this:
We offer the printer cartridges in three
colors: blue, black and green.
Use this:
Select your printer cartridge from three
colors: blue, black and green.
Things to remember

Too many businesses have an I or we

attitude.
Using the you attitude needs some
finesse or you might end up with some
very awkward-sounding sentences.
Its not meant to be manipulative or
insincere.
Its the thought that counts

Not the pronoun you choose to use.

If youre talking to a retailer, try to think
like a retailer.
If youre talking to a production
supervisor, put yourself in that position.
If youre dealing with a dissatisfied
customer, imagine how you would feel at
the other end of the transaction.
Sometimes avoid the you attitude

There are times that you should

definitely avoid using the you attitude.
If using it will make you sounds
dictatorial or that sounds impolite.
Mistakes

Also avoid it when someone makes a

mistake.
Then you will want to minimize ill will by
pointing out the error impersonally.
You might say, We have a problem
instead of You caused a problem.
Emphasize the positive

Another way of establishing a good

relationship with your audience is to
emphasize the positive side of your
message.
Most information, even bad news, has
some redeeming feature.
Explain what you have done, what you
can do and what you will donot what
you havent done, cant do or wont do.
Establishing your credibility

People are more likely to respond

positively to your message if they have
confidence in you.
If youre unknown to your audience
members, youll have to earn their
confidence before you can win them to
your point of view.
Credibility

You want people to trust that your word

is dependable and that you know what
youre doing.
If youre communicating with a familiar
group, your credibility has been
established, so you can get right down to
business.
An unknown or hostile audience?

First, show an understanding of your

audiences situation by calling attention
to the things you have in common.
If youre talking to people in the same
field, you might say, as a fellow teacher
(or whatever), Im sure you can
appreciate this situation.
Building credibility
You can also gain your audiences confidence
by explaining your credentials, but be careful
not to sound pompous.
Your title or the name of your organization
might be enough to impress your audience
with your abilities.
If not, you might mention the name of
someone who carries clout with your
audience. Something like Professor Jones
suggested I write to you.
Give good information

Your credibility is enhanced by the

quality of the information that you
provide.
If you support your points with evidence
that can be confirmed through
observation, research, experimentation
or measurement, audience members will
recognize that you have the facts, and
theyll respect you.
Be polite

Being polite is another good way to earn your

audiences respect.
By being courteous to members of you
audience, you show consideration for their
needs and feelings.
Express yourself with kindness and tact.
Although you may be tempted now and then to
be brutally frank, try to express the facts in a
kind and thoughtful manner.
Higher-ups

Use extra tact when writing and when

communicating with higher-ups and
outsiders.
Dont let the informality of e-mail trap you
into mistakes of initimacy or
brusqueness.
Be prompt!

Promptness is a sign of courtesy, and its

something very important when youre
dealing with Westerners.
Remember, most Europeans have a
different view of time than most Asians.
Use Bias-free Language

Most of us think of ourselves as being

sensitive, unbiased, ethical and fair.
But being objective and fair isnt enough.
You must also appear to be fair.
What to avoid

Bias-free language avoids unethical

blunders in language related to gender,
race, ethnicity, age and disability.
Make every effort to change biased
language.
Gender bias
Avoid sexist language by using the same label
for everyone.
For instance, dont call a woman a chairperson and
a man a chairman. Either call them both
chairperson or even just chair.
Reword sentences to use they instead of he or
she, or worse, he/she.
In the US and Britain, the preferred title for
women is Ms, unless the individual asks to be
addressed as Miss or Mrs. or has some other
title such as Dr. or Prof.
Racial and ethnic bias

The central principle is to avoid language

suggesting that members of a racial or
ethnic group have stereotypical
characteristics.
The best solution is to avoid identifying
people by race or ethnic origin unless
such a label is relevant, and it rarely is.
Age bias

Remember, the West has a bias against

older people.
We mention age only when it is relevant.
When referring to older people, avoid
such stereotypical adjectives such as
spry or frail.
Disability bias

No painless label exists for people with

physical, mental, sensory or emotional
impairment.
Avoid mentioning it unless its
necessary.
Project the companys image

Even though establishing a good relationship

with the audience is your main goal, give some
thought to projecting the right image for your
company.
When you communicate with outsiders, serve
as a spokesperson for your organization.
If you must, subordinate your own style to that
of the company.
Estimate your audiences probable
reaction.
Next week well discuss how audience
reaction affects message organization. If you
expect a favorable response, you can state
conclusions and recommendations up front
with less evidence. If you expect skepticism,
you can introduce conclusions gradually, with
more proof. By anticipating the primary
audiences response to certain points, you can
include evidence to address those issues.
Is it worth it?
You must also consider whether your purpose
is worth pursuing at this time.
Too many business messages serve no
practical purpose, and writing useless memos
can destroy your credibility, your
believabilitybased on how reliable you are
and how much trust you evoke in others.
If you suspect that your ideas will have little
impact, wait until you have a more practical
purpose.
Is your purpose realistic?

If your purpose involves a radical shift in

action or attitude, go slowly.
Considering proposing the first step and
viewing your message as the beginning
of a learning process.
Is this the right time?

If an organization is undergoing changes

of some sort, you may want to defer your
message until things stabilize and people
can concentrate on your ideas.
Is the right person delivering your
message?
Even though you may have done all the
work, achieving your objective is more
important than taking the credit.
You may want to play a supporting role
in delivering your message, if, for
example, your bosss higher status could
get better results.
Is your purpose acceptable to your
organization?
If you receive an abusive letter than
unfairly attacks your company, you might
wish to fire back an angry reply.
But your supervisors might prefer that
you regain the customers goodwill.
Your response must reflect the
organizations priorities.
Identify the primary audience.

If you can reach the decision makers or

opinion molders in your audience, other
audience members will fall into place.
Key people ordinarily have the most
organizational clout, but occasionally a
person of relatively low status may have
influence in one or two particular areas.
Determine audience size.

A report for wide distribution requires a

more formal style, organization and
format than one directed to three or four
people in your department.
Also, be sure to respond to the particular
concerns of key individuals.
The head of marketing would need different
facts than the head of production or finance
would need.
Determine audience composition.

Look for common denominators that tie

audience members together across
differences in culture, education, status, or
attitude.
Include evidence that touches on everyones
area of interest.
To be understood across cultural barriers,
consider how audience members think and
learn, as well as what style they expect.
Gauge your audiences level of
understanding.
If audience members share your general
background, theyll understand your
material without difficulty.
If not, you must educate them.
But...
But deciding how much information to include
can be a challenge
As a guideline, include only enough
information to accomplish your objective.
Everything else is irrelevant and must be
eliminated. Otherwise it will overwhelm your
audience and divert attention from important points.
If audience members do not have the same
level of understanding, gear your coverage to
your primary audience (the key decision
makers).
Less formal research

However, many other kinds of business

messages require much less formal
information gathering techniques.
Considering others viewpoints.

You might put yourself in someone elses

position to consider what others might be
thinking, feeling or planning.
Browsing through company files.

Your own filing cabinet may be a rich

source of the information you need for a
particular memo or e-mail message.
Chatting with supervisors or
colleagues.
Fellow workers may have information
you need or they may know what your
audience will be interested in.
Asking your audience for input.

If youre unsure of what audience

members need from your message, ask
themwhether through casual
conversation (face-to-face or over the
phone), informal surveys or unofficial
interviews.
The key to effective communication

Determining your readers informational

needs and responding to them.
A good message answers all audience
questions.
Find out exactly what your audience
wants to know
In many cases your audiences
information needs are readily apparent
a customer asks a specific question, for
instance.
Vague requests

But sometimes people are vague about what

information they need, often because they
either havent thought things through or they
simply dont know what they need to know.
By restating a vague request in more specific
terms, what you think the audience is asking
for, you can get the requester to define his or
her needs more precisely.
Think ahead for goodwill

Try to think of information needs that

your audience may not even be aware
of.
Include any additional information that
might be helpful, even though the
requester didnt specifically ask for it.
Although adding information like this
lengthens your message, doing so
creates goodwill.
Provide All Required Information

Once youve defined your audiences

information needs, be sure you satisfy
those needs completely.
 Make sure the information is accurate

Make sure the information is ethical

(unethical ommisions)

Make sure the information is pertinent

Be Sure the Information is Accurate.

Theres no point in answering all of your

audiences questions if the answers are
wrong.
Your organization is legally bound by any
promises you make, so be sure your
company is able to follow through.
Check with the appropriate people
before you make the commitment.
Minimize mistakes

By double-checking everything you write

or say.
Be sure to review any mathematical or
financial calculations.
Check all dates and schedules.
Examine your own assumptions and
conclusions to be certain they are valid.
Be Sure the Information is Ethical

Honest mistakes are certainly possible.

You may sincerely believe that you have
answered someones questions correctly and
then later realize that your information was
incorrect.
If that happens, the most ethical thing for you
to do is to contact the person immediately and
correct the error.
Most people will respect you for your honesty.
Unethical omissions

Messages may be unethical simply

because information may be omitted.
Of course, as a business professional,
you may have legal or other sound
business reasons not to include every
detail about every matter.
So how much detail should you include?
Include enough detail to avoid misleading
your audience.
Be Sure the Information is Pertinent

Remember that some information will be

of greater interest and importance to
your audience.
Try to figure out what points will
especially interest your audience.
Then give those points the most
attention.
Adapting your message to serve
your audience and purpose
By now you know why youre writing, you
know the audience youre writing for, and
you have most of the information you
need.