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Writing With Diplomacy, Tact

& FinessePresented by

Linda Mechem

Business Writing¨  English geeks are in

the minority among businesspeople.

¨  Over time, habits are formed with our conversational English.

What Does Your Writing Say About You?

¨  We’re supposed to write the way we speak.

¨  We need to be fully aware of diplomacy, tact, and finesse.

¨  Our business writing says a lot about us as professionals.

What I’ve Learned Over the Years

1. The English language is difficult to learn.

2. Writing does not always come naturally.

3. Writing can be frustrating and debilitating.

4. Poor writing can damage a career.

5. Poor writing can affect productivity and morale.

6. English has been influenced by the world.

7. In English, words change.

8. English is fluid and changed by usage.

Overview

1.  Word choice2.  Strategy before writing3.  Persuasion in writing4.  Email5.  Writing vs. editing6.  Other components

¨  Diplomacy: Employment of tact to gain advantage or to find mutually acceptable solutions in a polite manner

¨  Tact: Ability to deal with embarrassing situations; saying the appropriate thing

¨  Finesse: 1.  Having grace, elegance, skill, or balance 2.  Skill in the handling of a situation3.  A skilled maneuver4.  A maneuver for a card game

Definitions

Consider All Sides

We try to accomplish our business interactions

with a professional approach and tact.

We look for the compromise.

We need to be persuasive, influential,

and open-minded.

Organize Your Writing

1.  Define your purpose.

2.  Prewrite.

3.  Draft.

4.  Revise, edit, and format. 5.  Proofread.

Planning¨  Most people want to start on projects without planning.

¨  It’s necessary to plan.

Define Your Purpose¨  Focus your energy by rehearsing.¨  Ask yourself:

§  What do I want my readers to do?

§  What do I want them to know or understand?

§  What attitudes do I want them to have?

¨  Think of the best way to deliver your message.

¨  Think of only productive comments.¨  Don’t focus on the past.¨  Develop a ritual.

Persuasion¨  Persuasion is the art of getting

people to do what you want them to do by convincing them that they want to do it.

¨  50–70% of the workday is spent communicating with other people, and 70% of that time is spent using some sort of persuasion.

Prewriting¨  You probably won’t

take all these steps every time you send an email.

¨  Your business writing tells people what kind of professional you are.

Prewriting1.  Mind mapping2.  Clustering3.  Octopus chart4.  Freewriting5.  Flow-chart

thinking6.  Sticky notes7.  Formal outline

¨  Turn off your interior editor.¨  Write as fast as you

can without stopping.¨  Don’t worry about

spelling, punctuation, grammar, style,

or relevance.¨  More is better.¨  Keep working, and

new ideas will come.

Prewriting

After Prewriting

Prioritize them in order of importance and how you want them to appear in your document.

Start selecting the thoughts that will accomplish your purpose for writing.

Decide which of the ideas are going in and which are staying out.

Who are my readers?

What are their backgrounds?

What is the communication style?

What are the benefits to my readers?

Why should they read what I’m writing?

Know Your Audience

Keep in mind the communication style

of the different personality types.

Know Your Audience

Socializers •  Titles •  Headers •  Captions

Leaders •  Introduction •  Summary •  First paragraph

Analyticals •  Body •  Details

Feelers •  Conclusion •  Call to action

Keep in mind the communication style

of the different personality types.

Socializers are fast-paced and need their attention grabbed.

If you don’t hook leaders right away, you might not get their attention.

Analyticals will read anything and want to know all the details.

Feelers want to know what’s expected of them.

Know Your Audience

Tone and Style

Conversational writing: Formal writing: Business

casual:

•  Attempts to mimic a familiar tone

•  The author is just as important as the material.

•  Recipient is well-known to author

•  Uses traditional business English

•  Official tone and stilted language

•  Unknown, professional audience

•  Personal without being over-familiar

•  Slang is excluded, and little or no jargon is used.

•  Nonthreatening tone

Informal Communication

¨  It takes less time to write.¨  It takes less time to read.¨  It engages the reader

more quickly. Consider the

reader’s reaction.

Too informal: “I’d like to get that job you

guys advertised in the paper.”

Conversational: “I would like to apply for the position advertised.”

Too formal: “This letter is an inquiry as to the availability of the position

that was advertised in the Daily News of Sunday last.”

Informal Communication

Style Pitfalls¨  Wordiness

§  “Terminate the illumination” vs.

“lights out”§  “Revenue commitment”

vs. “tax increase”§  “Ended with the

following statement” vs. “concluded”

¨  Redundancy§  Advance planning§  End result§  Past history

Please contact me if you need further information.

Should you require additional information, please do not hesitate to call me.

Simplify

Simplify

My invoice for $1,200.45 for the materials ordered is attached.

Attached hereto, please find my invoice for the materials ordered in the amount of $1,200.45.

SimplifyPlease remit the balance due by the end of the

calendar year along with the following:

Products purchased Any additional materials received

All other items regarding this issue

Kindly remit the outstanding balance by the end of this year, including in the remittance the products

purchased, any additional materials received, and all other items regarding this issue.

I received your email dated May 12.

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email of May 12, in which you requested a new CD-ROM and in which you

stated that the one received was defective.

Simplify

Simplify

The organization’s primary concern is without immediate corrective action, the

consequences could be serious.

The paramount concern of this organization is that if we don’t take immediate action to correct this problem, the

ramifications could be very serious indeed.

Trim the Excess Fat

Gone are the days when formal was considered the only way to write a business document.

Go for understanding in your business writing.

Good Business Writing¨  To the point¨  Brief

¨  Helpful and necessary

¨  Informative

Be brief.

Be bold.

Be gone.

Writing so People Will

“If I can’t use my vocabulary at work, then when can I use it?”

“You use it when you know for a fact that every person you’re writing or talking to understands clearly what that vocabulary means.”

Understand You

You

“You” is the language of the aggressor and is considered

a verbal assault.

Use “I” statements instead. “You criticized

me in front of my coworkers.”

“I’m concerned. I was criticized in front of

my coworkers.”

But/However

But and however negate everything that comes before them.

Use and instead. “You’ve always been

a really good employee, but …”

“You’ve always been a really good employee, and there is something I need

to discuss with you.”

Can’t

Can’t implies you never will.

Use don’t instead. “I can’t

understand you.”

“I don’t understand you.”

Always/Never

These words are considered absolutes

and are rarely accurate.

Instead, state specific facts.

“You are always coming to work late.”

“I’ve noticed there seems to be a problem for you getting to work on time. Let’s talk about

what’s going on.”

These are scolding and bossy words.

Use “I” statements and focus on

the facts. “You should have finished the report

on time.” “The report was late this month. Let’s talk about

what happened.”

Should Have, Ought to Have, Would Have

Diplomacy and Tact

¨  Being diplomatic makes you more approachable.

¨  Others will be more responsive to what you have to say if you’re not coming across as harsh and demanding.

Your writing tells people what kind of professional you are.

What is the image you’re

projecting?

Is your writing

clear and to the point?

Is it free from

errors?

Have you trimmed the fat?

Have you adopted the KISS method of writing — “Keep It

Short and Simple”?

The 7 Cs of Business Writing

1.  Correct2.  Concise3.  Conversational4.  Clear5.  Complete6.  Concrete7.  Constructive

Especially applies to email

8.  Cliché-free

10 Points of More Effective Writing

1. Keep your writing clear, concise, and simple.

2. Choose your words carefully.

3. Be natural.

4. Avoid trendy words, jargon, and clichés.

5. Use active verbs.

6. Take a stand and avoid qualifiers.

7. Use familiar words.

8. Be specific; avoid vagueness.

9. Eliminate redundancies.

10. Keep your reader in mind.

10 Points of More Effective Writing

Structure and GrammarDo not use personal

pronouns.

Never begin a sentence with a conjunction.

Use a comma to indicate a pause

or breath. Do not use

contractions.

New

Rules

1. Be conversational.

2. Use personal pronouns.

3. You may begin a sentence with

the word I.

4. You may begin a sentence with a conjunction.

5. A sentence may end with a preposition, as long as that preposition

is relevant to the sentence.

6. The active voice for verbs is now recommended.

7. There are only about 26 uses for

the comma.

8. Contractions are conversational and appropriate.

9. Stay away from modifiers, qualifiers,

and amplifiers.

10. There are specific rules for subject-verb agreement.

New

Rules

Good Business Letter

“Make the document error free. Mistakes leave your readers with one of two impressions: That the

writer is either ignorant or careless.” — Malcolm Forbes

¨  Get a reference book that you trust.

¨  Beef up your grammar and punctuation skills.

¨  Most of us want to keep learning.

Continue Your

Education

Good Emails1.  Good emails meet the

expectations and needs of a reader base.§  Use the recipient’s words

and phrases.§  Use active voice.

§  Avoid beginning sentences with “It is” or “There are.”

§  Write at the 7th-grade level.§  Use strong verbs.

2.  Emails fill a definite communication need.§  Is this email

necessary?§  Does the recipient

want or need this message?

§  Is the message business-appropriate?

Good Emails

3.  Good emails have a good subject line.

Sara: This morning I spoke with you about the new contractor we’re planning on hiring. I have lined up two people who are interested in meeting with us about filling the position. Please call and I will give you the information on these people. As I told you this morning, I’m looking for some guidance on this matter, since this is outside my field of expertise. Thanks, Bob

Good Emails

Subject: Your expertise needed

in hiring new contractors

Royce: Thank you for the partial payment of $650 on your account. Please note that your balance is now $1,200, and it’s six months overdue. We appreciate your partial payment, but it’s essential that complete payment is received in the next 30 days in order to reinstate your credit privileges and continue our working relationship. Sincerely, Eileen

Subject: Reinstatement of

your credit privileges

3.  Good emails have a good subject line.

Good Emails

Problems With EmailMake sure you don’t fill in the “To” line and hit send before

doing a thorough review of the message.

Email Etiquette

1.  KISS: Keep It Short and Simple2.  Answer all questions.3.  Watch the mechanics.4.  Make it personal.5.  Respond quickly.6.  Avoid ALL CAPS.7.  Do not overuse “Reply All.”

Email Etiquette

8.  Take care with abbreviations and emoticons.9.  Don’t forward chain letters.10. With mass mailings, use the Bcc

field or do a mail merge.11. Don’t send emails containing

libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist, or obscene remarks.

12. Don’t reply to spam.

Inappropriate Ways to Use Email

Disciplinary situations Denial Sympathy

Anger Societal hot spots

Anything you wouldn’t put in a printed memo

Proofreading and Editing

1. Visual appeal

•  Indentations •  Spacing •  Centering •  Graphics •  Alignment •  White space

•  Grammar •  Punctuation

Proofreading and Editing2. Vocabulary 3. Consistency 4. Mechanics

•  Define all unusual or technical terms.

•  Avoid clichés.

•  Numbers •  Contractions •  Voice •  Headings •  Information

6. Make a recording.

7. Set some distance.

8. Look at numbers.

9. Look at abbreviations.

10. Find a buddy.

Post-Writing Techniques1. Read hard copy.

2. Check spelling.

3. Check grammar.

4. Read backward.

5. Read aloud.

Goal

Main reasons

Facts or examples to support main reasons

Persuasion Pyramid