Composing Business Messages

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Composing Business Messages

• Thill Chapter 6

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Four Common Organizational Problems

• Taking too long to get to the point
• Including irrelevant material
• Getting ideas mixed up
• Leaving out necessary information

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Hallmarks of Good Organization

• Subject and purpose are clear
• All material is related to subject and purpose
• Ideas are grouped and presented in a logical way
• All necessary information is included

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Importance of Good Organization

• Helps audience
• Identify main points
• Comprehend information
• Accept the message
• Saves audience's time by
• Eliminating unnecessary information
• Putting information in logical order
• Speeds the composition process
• Facilitates collaboration

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Organization is a Two-Step Process

• Define and group ideas
• Establish sequence with organizational patterns

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Advantages of Working from an Outline

• Reduces tendency to ramble
• Helps you achieve proper order and emphasis
• Clarifies transitions between sections

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Steps in the Outlining Process

• Define main idea
• What should the audience do or think after
  absorbing the message?
• Why should they do it or think it?
• State four or fewer major points
• Identify supporting points
• Translate general concepts into tangible facts
  and figures

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Purpose Determines Organization

• For informational messages, follow natural order
• Activities to be performed
• Functional units
• Spatial or chronological relationships
• Parts of the whole
• For persuasive or collaborative messages, use
  logical order based on reasons

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Supporting Ideas

• The amount of evidence to use depends on your
  topic and audience
• Provide more details for complex subjects and
  skeptical audiences
• Use fewer details for routine subjects and
  receptive audiences

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Use Various Types of Evidence

• Facts and figures statistical evidence
• Narration chronological story
• Description word pictures
• Examples typical case that illustrate points
• References to authority quotations or informed
  opinions
• Visual aids graphs, charts, tables

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Organization

• Use organizational plans to establish the
  sequence of ideas
• Two basic sequences
• Direct (deductive)
• Main idea first
• Indirect (inductive)
• Evidence before the main idea

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Audience Analysis

• The best approach depends on the audience's
  probable reaction
• Use direct approach for receptive audiences
• Use indirect approach for resistant audiences

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Four Organizational Plans for Shorter Messages

• Direct requests
• Routine, good-news, and goodwill messages
• Bad-news messages
• Persuasive messages

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Direct Request

• Use a straightforward approach when the audience
  will be willing to comply
• Begin with the request or main idea
• Provide necessary details
• Close with a statement of the desired action

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Routine, Good-News, and Goodwill Messages

• Emphasize the positive because the audience will
  be neutral or pleased by the information
• Begin with main idea or good news
• Provide necessary details
• Close with reference to good news or positive
  comment

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Bad-News Messages

• Cushion the blow when the audience will be
  displeased
• Begin with a neutral buffer
• Justify the negative point with evidence
• State the bad news in positive terms
• Close cordially

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Persuasive Messages

• Provide motivational incentives when the audience
  is unwilling to comply or uninterested in the
  message
• Begin with an attention-getter
• Build interest by describing the general idea
• Explain benefits to create desire
• Request action

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Longer Messages

• Two organizational approaches for longer messages
• Informational
• Analytical

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Informational Reports Presentations

• Follow a natural order imposed by the subject
• Order of importance
• Sequential order
• Chronological order
• Spatial order
• Geographical order
• Categorical order

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Analytical Reports Presentations

• Organize according to the audience's probable
  reaction
• Organize around conclusions and recommendations
  for receptive audiences
• Organize around the reasons if audience is
  skeptical or hostile

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Difference Between Style and Tone

• Style
• The way words are used to create effects
• Tone
• The overall effect the result of style

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Tips for Achieving the Right Style and Tone

• Strive for a businesslike tone objective,
  rational, efficient
• Use the "you" attitude write from the audience's
  point of view
• Emphasize the positive
• Establish credibility
• Be polite
• Project the company's image

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To Achieve a Businesslike Tone

• Avoid being too familiar or folksy
• Watch the use of humor
• Avoid obvious flattery
• Avoid preaching or bragging
• Be yourself

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How to Achieve the You" Attitude

• Use you and yours instead of I, me, mine, we, us,
  and our
• Don't use too many pronouns focus on conveying
  genuine empathy
• Avoid the use of you in a judgmental, blaming
  context

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Emphasizing the Positive Means

• Calling attention to the bright side of things
• Focusing on opportunities for improvement, not
  mistakes or problems
• Pointing out benefits for the audience
• Substituting euphemisms for offensive terms
  without double-talk

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To Establish Credibility

• Particularly important with strangers
• Emphasize points in common (such as similar
  occupations)
• Support ideas with facts
• Avoid exaggeration
• Avoid insincere compliments
• Avoid false modesty and hesitant phrasing

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Be Polite, Especially in Written Messages

• Be tactful and restrained when expressing
  yourself
• Do extra little things, like sending birthday
  cards
• Be prompt in handling correspondence

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Project the Company's Image

• Adopt the style favoured by the organization
• Organization and style are just as important for
  e-mail messages as for other business messages
• Think carefully about your audience
• Use short, focused paragraphs organized in a
  logical fashion
• Do your best to attract your reader's attention

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Attract Attention

• With key words, humor, quotations, or questions
• Word your subject line effectively
• Include a greeting
• Use simple closings

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Emoticons

• Emoticons are visual elements constructed from
  keyboard characters
• The textbook allows limited use of emoticons
• The textbook is too lenient
• You should only use emoticons when writing fan
  letters to Jennifer Lopez
• -)

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