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 audiences 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
Common Purposes of Business Messages (contd)
9
Common Purposes of Business Messages (contd)

• 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 (contd)

• 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 (contd)

• 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 audiences reaction
• Gear information to the audiences level of
  understanding
• Consider your relationship with the audience

14
When Analyzing Your Audience (Profile / Needs)
(contd)

• 2. Satisfying the audiences needs
• Informational needs
• Motivational needs -- Appeal to reason versus
  Appeal to emotions

15
When Analyzing Your Audience (Profile / Needs)
(contd)

• 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 (contd)

• 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 (contd)

• 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
(contd)
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
• J I will fill the order as soon as I receive more
  supplies.
• L Upon 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 (contd)

• Example
• Each year McDonalds sponsors the All-American
  Band, made up of two high school students from
  each State. The band marches in Macys
  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. McDonalds 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 (contd)

• 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 Whats 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
(contd)

• 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

37

• The End