New Perspectives on Communicating in Business with Technology Tutorial 1 1 Writing Clearly and Effectively in Business.

New Perspectives on Communicating in Business with TechnologyTutorial 1

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Writing Clearly and Effectively in Business

2New Perspectives on Communicating in Business with TechnologyTutorial 1

Business Communication Process

The reader must receive a document The reader must read the document The reader must understand the document The reader needs to act

All four activities are required ACTION is essential

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Document Expected Reader Actions

Sales letter describes a new tour to Africa

Purchase the tour

Letter requesting a recommendation

Provide the recommendation

Proposal to purchase a new computer

Approve the proposal

Letter asking for a job Grant an interview or give the writer a job

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Developing Clarity

• Select precise words• Use the active voice• Use everyday vocabulary• Eliminate wordiness

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Developing Clarity

• Choose words that communicate message clearly and precisely

Vague Sentence Precise Sentence

Your order will be filled soon.

Your order for 200 garden gnomes will be filled by March 18.

We are meeting later about investments

The Finance Department will meet at 4 p.m. on April 3 to analyze the 2008 investments.

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Developing Clarity

• Use the active voice: Summit Books purchased the packing materials

• Summit Books is the subject• Purchased is the verb• Subject + Verb order = Active Voice

• Avoid the passive voice: The materials were purchased by Summit

Books• Verb + Subject order = Active Voice

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Developing Clarity

• Use everyday vocabulary

Stock Phrase Everyday Alternative

In the event that If

In order to To

Please do not hesitate to call me Please call me

I’d like to take this opportunity say thank you.

Thank you.

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Developing Clarity

• Eliminate wordiness

Wordy To the PointYour application, which we received with great pleasure the preceding week, will definitely be reviewed by us, probably within the next 10 days, or possibly sooner.

We will review your application by May 3.

The meeting of the Sales Department will be held on May 3 to address a wide variety of issues that are all, to varying degrees, related to our participation in the upcoming trade show.

On May 3, the Sales Department will meet to discuss the upcoming trade show.

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Identifying Formatting Requirements

• Ensure all text is visible, easy to read

• Select a clear, reader-friendly layout

• Organize content to maximum readability

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Identifying Formatting Requirements

• Choose a serif font for regular text Times New Roman, Bodoni MT, Garamond

• Choose 12-point for regular text

• Do not use fancy fonts Blackadder ITC, Gigi, Quickley Wiggly

• Choose a sans serif font for headings Arial, Century Gothic, Tahoma

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Identifying Formatting Requirements

Text without headings is difficult to read

The same text organized under

headings is easy to read and understand

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Identifying Reader Needs

• Use the 5W’s to identify reader needs Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

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Identifying Reader Needs

• Use a reader-centered vocabulary• Use “you” and “your” instead of “I” and “we”

Writer Centered

Reader Centered

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Use a Positive Tone

• Choose positive words• Identify positive actions• Avoid criticism• Eliminate negative words

Regret, Wrong, Sorry, Rejected, etc.

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Develop Editing Skills

Use correct grammar Avoid “it” and “there” at the beginning of

sentences

Use action verbs, not linking verbs

Use active voice, not passive voice

Reduce sentence length

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Develop Editing Skills

• Use commas correctly: Use a comma after an introductory phrase

• If you have any questions, please call me.

Use a comma to set off an interjected phrase• Martin, our new sales manager, hired three sales

associates.

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Develop Editing Skills

• Use commas correctly: Use a comma to separate items in a list

• We bought pencils, pens, staplers, and rulers.

Use a comma between adjectives (when “and” can be used instead)

• The exciting, new product thrilled us.

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Develop Editing Skills

• Use semi-colons correctly: Use a semicolon between two independent

clauses• The Sales Department developed a marketing plan;

the president accepted it.

Use a semicolon before a conjunctive adverb (however, therefore, consequently, etc.)

• All of the sales representatives exceeded their quotas; consequently, they all received raises.

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Develop Editing Skills

• Use colons to introduce a list We have developed marketing plans for the

following products:• Digital cameras• Scanners• Printers• Laptops

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Evaluate Document Readability

• Use Word to calculate the readability of a document Count the number of words Calculate the average number of words per

sentence Identify the percentage of passive sentences Identify the Flesch-Kincaid grade level needed

for understanding

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Evaluate Document Readability

• In the Spelling and Grammar dialog box, select the Show Readability statistics check box

• A good business document includes: Less than 20% passive

sentences Flesch Reading Ease

between 60 and 70 Flesch-Kincaid Grade level

between Grade 7 and 9

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Track Changes

• Use the Word Reviewing toolbar to show changes, accept and reject changes, and add comments to a document