Writing Business Messages

Writing Business Messages

•The 3 step writing process•Understanding your audience•Selecting the right media•Organizing the message

LO1. Describe the 3 step writing process

PLAN WRITE COMPLETE

Analyze the situation Adapt to your audience Revise the message

Gather information Establish you credibility Produce the message

Select the right medium Control your style Proofread the message

Organize the information Compose the message Distribute the message

This chapter is about the planning part!

Planning the message

– Analyze the situation- define your purpose & develop an audience profile

– Gather information- obtain the necessary information & provide the

required information to satisfy audience needs– Select the right medium

- for delivering message; oral, written, visual, etc– Organize the information

- define your main idea, limit your scope, select a direct or indirect approach & outline content

So let’s look at defining your purpose

• It defines the– overall approach– the information needed– the appropriate medium– how to organize your message– Determines audience participation

• all messages have a purpose; to inform, persuade or collaborate

LO2. Explain why it is important to define your purpose carefully and list 4 questions

that can help you test that purpose

How can the purposes vary?

INFORM PERSUADE COLLABORATE

less audience interaction

moderate audience interaction

maximum audience interaction

audience absorb info; either accept or reject

give audience chance to ask questions

audience adjust to new information, views, reactions, etc

audience don’t contribute to content

clear up any doubts audience may have

communicator in control

communicator in moderate control

communicator has less control

How can we test your purpose?

Testing the specific purpose of each messageAsk 4 questions

1. Would anything change as a result of your message? - if no, don’t send it

2. Is your purpose realistic? - if it is a drastic change, go slow….propose a first step…..message becomes the start of a learning process

3. Is it the right time? – is it worth the time & effort to prepare & send message? Don’t send at a busy or difficult time

4. Is your purpose acceptable to your organization? – how do you expect them to respond? when?

After defining your purpose, to analyze the situation, we need to develop audience profile

Develop the profile of your audience1. Identify the primary audience

-some members are > important than others, don’t ignore the others’ needs but do address the primary members, i.e. decision makers

2. Determine audience size and geographic spread -this affects the approach, e.g. meeting vs. face to face

3. Determine the audience composition -look for similarities & differences in culture, language,

education, rank, attitudes etc4. Gauge their level of understanding

-do you have similar background to audience? same education level?

5. Understand expectations -details? summary? formal? informal?

LO.4 Discuss gathering information for simple messages and identify 3 attributes of quality

information

Informal techniques to information gathering:- assemble information to include in message - if simple, all information is ready- if complex, research & analysis required, we need to know what to include, how to express & present it

To Gather Information- Consider other viewpoints

- put yourself in their shoes. How do you feel? What are you thinking? What is ahead for us?

- Read reports and company documents- review financial statements, news releases, blogs, marketing

reports, customer surveys, database & Knowledge Management Systems

- Talk with supervisors, colleagues, & customers- sometimes people are vital sources of information, they may

be reliable & trust worthy- Ask your audience for input

- Don’t try to guess your audiences’ needs. If you not sure, ask

After information gathering, you have to ensure to satisfy your audiences’ needs for information

Providing the Requested Information• Test your message by using the journalistic

approach, who, what, when, where, why, how

• Check to ensure information is– Accurate– Ethical Information quality characteristics

– Pertinent

What makes information accurate?

Accurate• prevent embarrassment, lost productivity,

due to safety & legal issues• if sources are people, double-check?• ensure its current & reliable• check dates, review calculations• don’t make assumptions• provide supporting information, upon

requestWhat makes information ethical?

Ethical• You could make an honest mistake– if so, contact recipients asap and correct it– they will continue to have respect for you

• Remember it is unethical to omit information– include enough information to not mislead

• If you are not sure about information quality– do ensure that you offer enough to support your

message– do provide more, if requested

What makes information pertinent?

Pertinent• some points are more important than others– prioritize them– filter the masses

• focus on audiences concerns• group varying interests, use common sense

to identify interests• Look at their job, age, income, education to

clue in (see Lecture 1)

Now we have quality information, how do we select the right media?

Select the right media

Media Options

Oral Written Visual Electronic

• Medium- form of which you which you choose to communicate your message

• Proper selection make the difference; i.e. effective or ineffective communication

ORAL

face 2 face

speeches

in person presentationsinterviews

meetings

WRITTEN

memos

proposals

reports

letters

VISUALS

diagrams

symbols

graphs

charts

ELECTRONIC

emailsblogs

txt msgs

Wikisvoice msgs

telephone calls

PowerPoint presentations

Media Advantages & DisadvantagesMedia Advantages DisadvantagesOral • Opportunity for feedback

• Allows interaction• Emotions can be expressed

• Restricted participation• No permanent record• No opportunity to revise or edit

Written • Can plan & control• Dispersed audience• Permanent, viable record• No distortion• Avoid interactions• Do not emphasize

inappropriate emotions

• No speedy feedback• Lack of non-verbal clues• Time & resources to distribute• Requires skill in preparation &

production

Visual • Can convey complex ideas• Less intimidating than large

blocks of text• Quickly convey message• To easily see relationships

• Technical skills to create• Artistic skills to design• Can be difficult to transmit• Takes more time to prepare than

text

Electronic • Delivers messages quickly• Reach dispersed audience• > accessibility & openness• > excitement & appeal

• Easy to overuse• Privacy & security concerns• Can contribute to unproductivity

LO5. List factors to consider when choosing the appropriate media for your

message• Media Richness• Message Formality• Media Limitations• Sender Intentions• Urgency & Cost• Audience Preferences

Let’s look at media richness

Media Richness

Standard reports

Static web pages

Mass mediaPosters & symbols

Custom reportsLetters & memos

Email & IMBlogswikis

Telephone callsTeleconferencing

Video Video IM

Face 2 faceMultimedia

Virtual Reality

Leaner, fewer cues, no interactivity

Richer,> cues, no interactivity

A medium’s ability to: 1.) convey a message through > 1 informational cue (visual, verbal, vocal, etc. 2.) facilitate feedback 3.) establish personal focus

• Message Formality: – your media choice rules the style & tone of your message, e.g.

change in café hours is better communicated on a blog vs. memo

• Media Limitations: – every medium have limitations, e.g. same time, same place

with face 2 face communication• Sender Intentions:

– media choice influences your audience perception of your intentions, e.g. a letter shows formality vs. phone call

• Urgency & Cost– You have to gauge the two factors, face 2 face (urgent) but

preparing a meeting may be costly• Audience Preferences

– which option the audience prefers, delivering a diploma via fax!!!???

LO6. Explain why good organization is important to both you and your audience-1

• Makes the difference between success & failure• Why organize?– to not create any unnecessary work for readers– keep them interested– maintain your reputation as a good communicator– you will take less time to do drafts– saves time & consumes less creativity– you compose what you actually need– to get advance input from audience– If working on a large project, its easier to divide tasks

among co-workers

• It helps the audience in 3 ways:1. Helps the audience organize everything

Highlighting main points at the start Information is logically presented Satisfies the audiences’ need for information

2. Helps the audience accept messageBe diplomatic- acknowledge, sympathize, offer solution, be

accountable & provide opportunities for further communication

3. Saves your audience timeOnly have relevant ideasIdeas are briefly outlinedIdeas are in a logical placeIdeas are accessible

LO6. Explain why good organization is important to both you and your audience-2

So how do we organize them?

LO7. Summarize the process for organizing business messages effectively

• Define your main idea• Limit the scope• Choose the direct or indirect approach• Group your points- create an outline

Let’s look at defining the main idea

Define your main idea• condense your information into 1 idea to get the broad subject or

topic• the entire message supports, will explain or demonstrate that main

idea• The main idea is a specific statement about the topic of your

message• The main idea is obvious for simple messages & have little

emotional impact on the audience• If responding to a request, you start with the concept, “here is what

you wanted!....”• If persuading or delivering bad news, establish a relationship with

the audience, highlight their interests in your main idea & emphasize a point you can both agree upon

• If message is lengthy, e.g. a report, your main idea has to encompass all included points

Let’s look at handling included points

Techniques to encompass points-1Brainstorming– generating ideas or questions without reflecting on

relevance, accuracy or seeking approval– can be done alone, but best with others– after his, look for connections, trends, etc. to help define

the main idea & supporting points– See a step by step guide to brainstorming

Techniques to encompass points-2Journalistic Approach– outlines the who, what, when, where, how & why– filters through the initial content– See

A journalistic approach to good writing: the craft of clarity By Robert M. Knight

Techniques to encompass points-3Q & A chain– start with a question that appeals to the audience– work back towards your message– each answer generate new questions– until you get all the information that needs to be

in your message

Techniques to encompass points-4Story teller’s tour– some communicators feel it is better to talk through– then express it in words– play it back, to find vague areas, lack of details, etc.– go back, edit….until complete & concise

Techniques to encompass points-5Mind Mapping

- start with main idea- branch out- connect with any other idea that comes to mind- see Mind Maps

Let us look at an example of defining the main idea

General purpose

Specific Purpose Topic Main idea

To inform To inform employees about the improvements at the café.

Improvements at the café

Improvements in food and facilities have been made to the café.

After defining the main idea, how do we know what to cover?

Limiting your scope

What is scope?– range of presented information– overall length– level of detail

must correspond with main idea

Range of presented information• Main idea Improvements in food and facilities have been made to the café. • Major points– new lunch menu– new hot beverages– new ambience

• Supporting information– full balanced meals; not just sandwiches, pies, etc.– new cappuccino machine & herbal teas available– new furniture & change in music

Length of message

• limit your major points to about 6 or so, better if less

• Group supporting points

New hot beverages New ambience– new cappuccino machine - new furniture – herbal teas available - change in music

Level of detail• if message is brief, use 1 paragraph each for

the main idea, major points & supporting points

• if longer, the major points must be developed by supporting points

• Length depends on the following:nature of messagefamiliarity with topicif audience will be receptive to your conclusionyour credibility We know what to include & its detail,

but how do we present it?

Choosing between Direct & Indirect Approaches

Eager Interested Pleased Neutral Displeased Uninterested Unwilling

Direct Approach Indirect Approach Indirect Approach

Audience Reaction

Eager/interested/pleased/neutral

Displeased Uninterested/ Unwilling

MessageOpening

Start with the main idea, the request or good news

Start with a neutral statement that acts as a transition to the reasons for bad news

Start with a statement or question that captures attention

MessageBody

Provide necessary details Give reasons to justify a negative answer. State or imply the bad news, and make a positive suggestion

Arouse the audience’s interest in the subject. Build the audience’s desire to comply.

Message Close

Close, with a cordial comment, a reference to the good news or a statement about the specific action desired

Close cordially Request action.

How to choose between the two options

• analyze your audiences’ likely reaction to your purpose & message

• consider the unique circumstance of each message

• the audiences’ situation should be taken into consideration

What are the different types of messages?

Different types of messages• Routine

– involve daily matters of operating a business, e.g. change in office hours– audience are neutral– easy to prepare– use direct approach

• Positive– convey good news, e.g. announcements– audience are pleased to hear from you– use direct approach

• Negative – deliver bad news, e.g. job loss– will disappoint audience– use indirect approach

• Persuasive– Asking audience to give, do or change– use indirect approach

So we know how to approach the message but how do we present it?

Outlining the content

Why do we use outlines?– Save time– Get better results– Easy navigation– Easy to see relationships between components– Stay on track– Communicate in a systematic way– Message becomes coherent and flow into each

other

How to outline data?

Alphanumeric Outline

The following are improvements made in food and facilities at the café:A.New

i. full balanced mealsB. New hot beverages

i. new cappuccino machineii. new herbal teas

C. New ambiencei. new furnitureii. change in music

Decimal OutlineThe following are improvements made in food and facilities at the café.1. New menu

1.1 full balanced meals2. New hot beverages

2.1 new cappuccino machine2.2 new herbal teas

3. New ambience3.1 new furniture3.2 change in music

Organizational Charts

Change in café hours

New ambience

New furniture

Change in music

New lunch menu

New hot beverages

New cappuccino machine

New herbal beverages

Summary

• Clarify the purpose of your message on the onset

• Provide the required information• Select the right media• Develop an outline of the planned content

Questions

1. Traditionally, communication is either oral or written.

i.) Give 3 examples of oral communication used in business. [3]ii.) Briefly outline 3 advantages of oral communication. [3]iii.) Briefly outline 3 disadvantages of oral communication. [3]

2. The 3 step writing process can help you produce all kinds of business messages.

a) You are going to write a routine request message. The first step is to plan a

message. Describe, in a logical order, the 4 tasks involved in planning a message. [9]

3. Organizing a presentation. i.) Describe how you would define the main

idea of your presentation. [3] ii.) Give 2 reasons why it is particularly important to limit your scope for oral presentations. [4]

4. You have to write many negative business message in your career.

i.) Give 5 circumstances in which you would use the direct approach in a letter which contains bad news for its recipients. [5]ii.) When would you use an indirect approach in a negative message? [1]iii.) What are the sequence of elements in a message using the indirect approach? [4]