Lecture 3: Planning and Composing Business Messages

1. Lecture 3: Planning and Composing Business Messages

2. Planning and Composing Business Messages PART A: Planning Business Messages I. Defining the purpose of writing task A. Common purposes of business messages B. Testing the purpose II. Analyzing your audience and adapting your message A. Developing audience profile B. Satisfying the audience’s needs C. Personalizing letter III. Selecting the appropriate channel and medium A. Oral communication B. Written communication

3. Planning and Composing Business Messages PART B: Organizing and Composing Business Messages I. Importance of good organization • Helping audience identify the main ideas more quickly and comprehend important information better • Helping audience to accept your message • Saving audience time by eliminating unnecessary information and putting message in logical order II. Four common organizational problems • Taking too long to get to the point • Including irrelevant material • Getting ideas mixed up • Leaving out necessary information

4. Planning and Composing Business Messages PART B: Organizing and Composing Business Messages III. Organization is a three-step process and can be achieved by: A. Defining the main idea B. Grouping your ideas C. Choosing between direct and indirect approaches • Types of messages and organizational plans A. Direct requests B. Routine, good-news messages C. Bad-news messages D. Persuasive messages

5. Planning and Composing Business Messages PART B: Organizing and Composing Business Messages V. Composing business messages A. Controlling both style and tone to suit the occasion B. Selecting the best words for correctness and effectiveness C. Creating effective sentences D. Developing coherent paragraphs VI. Checklist for composing sentence and paragraph A. Tips for creating effective sentences B. Tips for creating effective paragraphs C. Five common ways for developing a paragraph

6. Part A Planning Business Messages

7. Common Purposes of Business Messages

8. Collaborate High Persuade Medium Audience Participation Inform Low Low Medium High Communicator Control Common Purposes of Business Messages (cont’d)

9. Common Purposes of Business Messages (cont’d) • Using Inform (Tell) Approach When: • Messages at the informative end of the continuum require less interaction with the audience. • You are in complete command of the necessary authority and information. • Example: You ask a subordinate to carry out a routine task.

10. Common Purposes of Business Messages (cont’d) • Using Persuasive (Sell) Approach When: • You are in command of the information, but your audience retains the ultimate decision-making power. • Persuasive messages require a moderate amount of audience participation and allow a moderate amount of control. • EX: You ask a customer to buy your product. • Sell benefits, not features.

11. Common Purposes of Business Messages (cont’d) • Using Collaborative (Join) Approach When: • Your point of view is one among many. • Collaborative messages require maximum audience participation. • EX: You serve as a representative at an interdepartmental strategy session. • When collaboration is your goal, you must be prepared to adjust to new input and unexpected reactions.

12. Testing the Purpose • Testing the purpose by asking: 1. Realistic? 2. Right time? 3. Right person delivering the message? (See example on Memo to Henry C. Hendrikson.) 4. Acceptable to the organization? *The memo will be discussed in tutorial.

13. When Analyzing Your Audience (Profile / Needs) 1. Developing an audience profile • WHO • WHAT Channel (size) • HOW -- • Anticipate the audience’s reaction • Gear information to the audience’s level of understanding • Consider your relationship with the audience

14. When Analyzing Your Audience (Profile / Needs) (cont’d) 2. Satisfying the audience’s needs • Informational needs • Motivational needs -- Appeal to reason versus Appeal to emotions

15. When Analyzing Your Audience (Profile / Needs) (cont’d) 3. Personalize your letter • Address a particular need (Sample A)* • Tailor to customer profile (Sample B)* • Appeal to audience empathy by using a personal voice (Sample C)* *Three sample letters are included for reference.

16. Selecting the Channel and Medium Oral Communication • Permits immediate feedback • Good for dealing with questions, making group decisions, presenting controversial information • Forms: Unplanned conversations, telephone calls, interviews, small group meetings, seminars, workshops, training programs, formal speeches, presentations

17. Selecting the Channel and Medium (cont’d) Written Communication • Provides the writer with a chance to plan and control the message • Good when • Information is complex • Documentation is required • Audience is large and dispersed • Feedback is unnecessary

18. Selecting the Channel and Medium (cont’d) Written Communication • Most common forms: • Memos and letters • Reports and proposals • Factual, objective documents for internal or external audiences • Generally longer and more formal than letters and memos

19. Planning Audience-Centered Business Messages Purpose (Be clear about exactly what you mean to accomplish before you write) ò Information gathering through Reading Interviewing Discussing Thinking ò Brainstorming by 5 “WH-questions” (Who; What; Where; When; Why) ò Structuring your ideas in the order how best to carrying out your purpose

20. PART B Organizing and Composing Business Messages

21. Importance of Good Organization A. Helping audience identify the main ideas more quickly and comprehend important information better. B. Helping audience accept your message. C. Saving audience time by eliminating unnecessary information and putting message in logical order.

22. Four Common Organization Problems A. Taking too long to get to the point B. Including irrelevant material C. Getting ideas mixed up D. Leaving out necessary information

23. Good Organization Can Be Achieved through a Three-step Process: A. Defining the main idea B. Grouping the main idea C. Choosing between direct and indirect approaches

24. Establishing Organization Plans

25. When and Why Using Direct or Indirect Approach

26. Types of Messages and Organizational Plans

27. Types of Messages and Organizational Plans (cont’d)

28. Controlling Both Style and Tone Beware of the differences between style and tone • Style: The way words are used to create effects • Tone: The overall effect; the result of style • Avoid big words JI will fill the order as soon as I receive more supplies. LUpon procurement of additional supplies, I will initiate fulfillment of the order as quickly as possible. • Avoid gushy, overblown terms • (e.g. extremely, extraordinary, exceptionally)

29. Selecting the Best Words Use functional and content words: • Functional words (e.g. conjunctions, preposition, articles and pronouns) • Express relationships • Have one final meaning • Content words (e.g. nouns, verbs, adjective, adverbs) • Carry the meaning of the sentence • Are subject to many interpretations • Vary in degree of abstraction

30. Creating Effective Sentences Three types of sentences: • Simple: Profits have increased. • Compound: Wage rates have declined and turnover has been high. • Complex: Although the sales force is strong, the business depends heavily on advertising to reach consumers.

31. Developing Coherent Paragraphs Three basic elements of a paragraph: A. Topic Sentence • Summarizes main idea • Usually comes first B. Related Sentences • Explain and pertain to the main idea • Are more specific than the topic sentence C. Transitional elements • Link sentences and paragraphs • Establish relationships among ideas

32. Developing Coherent Paragraphs (cont’d) Example: Each year McDonald’s sponsors the All-American Band, made up of two high school students from each State. The band marches in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City and the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena. Franchisees are urged to join their local Chamber of Commerce, United Way, American Legion, and other bastions of All-Americana. McDonald’s tries hard to project an image of almost a charitable organization. Local outlets sponsor campaigns on fire prevention, bicycle safety, and letter cleanup, with advice from Hamburger Central on how to extract the most publicity from their efforts.

33. Developing Coherent Paragraphs (cont’d) Five Most Common Ways to Develop a Paragraph A. Illustrations: Examples that demonstrate the general idea B. Comparison or contrast: Similarities or differences among thoughts C. Cause and effect: Reasons for something D. Classification: Division of ideas into sub-categories E. Problem and Solution: What’s wrong and how to fix it Examples: (to be discussed in tutorials; see Supplementary Reading)

34. Checklist for Composing Sentences and Paragraphs Tips For Creating Effective Sentences 1. Use a mix of sentence type for variety 2. Keep sentences short – 20 words on average, but vary the length to make writing interesting 3. Emphasize important ideas - (Key thoughts) 4. Apply active and passive verbs carefully - (Keep verbs in active voice, but use passive voice to soften criticism.) EX: The shipment was lost. – NOT – You lost the shipment. 5. Eliminate misplaced modifiers EX: See next pages for examples

35. Examples of Misplaced Modifiers 1. Antia Information Systems has bought new computer chairs for the programmers with more comfortable seats. Revised Version: Antia Information Systems has bought new computer chairs with more comfortable seats for the programmers. 2. I asked him to file all the letters in the cabinet that had been answered. Revised Version:I asked him to file in the cabinet all the letters that had been answered. 3. The merchandise was inspected by our inventory manager that was received today. Revised Version 1:The merchandise that was received today was inspected by our inventory manager. Revised Version 2:Our inventory manager inspected the merchandise that was received today.

36. Checklist for Composing Sentences and Paragraphs (cont’d) Tips For Creating Effective Paragraphs 1. Develop and stick to one point per paragraph 2. Use the direct plan 3. Use the indirect plan 4. Build coherence by linking sentences 5. Provide road signs with transitional expressions 6. Limit paragraph length (100 words on average) 7. Use information heading to grab readers’ attention and make document easier to read

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