BCOM 7 Preparing Written Messages 4 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. LEHMAN/ DUFRENE

2 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 1 Apply techniques for developing effective sentences and unified and coherent paragraphs 2 Prepare visually appealing documents that grab the audience’s attention and increase comprehension 3 Identify factors affecting readability and revise messages to improve readability 4 Revise and proofread a message for content, organization, style, and tone; and mechanics format, and layout LEARNING OUTCOMES BCOM7|CH4

Craft Powerful Sentences 3 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Rely on active voice Active voice: Subject of a sentence is the doer of an action Passive voice: Subject of a sentence is the receiver of an action Conceals the doer Emphasizes what was done and who or what it was done to Subordinates an unpleasant thought BCOM7|CH4

Craft Powerful Sentences 4 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Emphasize important ideas Pleasant and important ideas should be emphasized Techniques Sentence structure Repetition Words that label, position, and space and format BCOM7|CH4

Requirements of Developing Coherent Paragraphs 5 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Position the topic sentence appropriately Topic sentence: Identifies the portion of the topic being discussed Presents the central idea of the paragraph Deductive paragraph: Topic sentence precedes the details Inductive paragraph: Topic sentence follows the details Link ideas to achieve coherence BCOM7|CH4

Requirements of Developing Coherent Paragraphs 6 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Coherence: Cohesion Each sentence is linked to the preceding sentences in some way Keep paragraphs unified Vary sentence and paragraph length BCOM7|CH4

7 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Contrast the Readability and Appeal of Bulky versus Broken Text Figure 4.2 BCOM7|CH4

Suggestions for Developing Business Documents 8 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. View things from audience’s perspective Revise the documents until all additional ways to improve them are applied Welcome suggestions for improvement in writing BCOM7|CH4

Visual Enhancements to Improve Readability 9 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. BCOM7|CH4 Enumerations Enumerated or bulleted lists Headings Tables and graphs Lines and borders Relevant images

10 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Improving Readability Through Cautious Use of a Grammar and Style Checker Figure 4.3 BCOM7|CH4

Revise for Style and Tone 11 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Eliminate outdated expressions Curb clichés Clichés: Overused expressions that cause users to be perceived as: Unoriginal, unimaginative, lazy, and disrespectful Eliminate profanity Use simple, informal words Jargon: Used when communicating with colleagues in the same field BCOM7|CH4

Revise for Style and Tone 12 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Communicate concisely Techniques to produce concise messages Eliminate redundancies Redundancy: Word unnecessarily repeating an idea in an accompanying word Use active voice Review the main purpose of writing and identify relevant details Avoid restating of ideas Shorten sentences Use a compound adjective BCOM7|CH4

Revise for Style and Tone 13 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Suggestions to project a positive, tactful tone Tone: Conveys the writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward the message and the receiver State ideas using positive language Avoid using second person when stating negative ideas Use passive voice to convey negative ideas Use active voice to promote positive ideas Use the subjunctive sentences BCOM7|CH4

Revise for Style and Tone 14 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Subjunctive sentences: Speak of a wish, necessity, doubt, or condition contrary to fact Include a pleasant statement in the same sentence Use euphemisms cautiously Euphemism: Kind word to substitute for a offending word Double speak: Euphemisms that deliberately mislead, hide, or evade the truth Avoid condescending or demeaning expressions BCOM7|CH4

Revise for Style and Tone 15 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Damages efforts to build and protect goodwill Goodwill: Arises when a business is worth more than its tangible assets Use connotative tone cautiously Denotative meaning: Literal meaning of a word that most people assign to it Connotative meaning: Literal meaning of a word plus an extra message Reveals the speaker’s or writer’s qualitative judgment BCOM7|CH4

Revise for Style and Tone 16 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Use specific language appropriately Guidelines to use bias-free language Use occupational titles that reflect genuine sensitivity to gender Avoid: Referring to men and women in stereotyped roles and occupations Designating an occupation by gender Using expressions that may be perceived to be gender-biased Racial, ethnic, age, and disability bias BCOM7|CH4

Procedures to Produce an Error-Free Product 17 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Use spell-check to locate keying errors and repeated words Proofread the document, concentrating on: Errors in content, organization, and style Mechanical errors Display the document, in print preview mode, and edit for format and layout Print a draft copy and proofread again if the document is non-routine and complex Print written documents on high-quality paper BCOM7|CH4

18 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Passive voice Active voice Topic sentence Deductive paragraphs Inductive paragraphs Coherence Clichés Jargon Redundancy Tone Subjunctive sentences KEY TERMS BCOM7|CH4 Euphemism Doublespeak Goodwill Denotative meaning Connotative meaning

19 Copyright ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. SUMMARY Crafting written messages Focus on getting down ideas coherently and as quickly as possible to ensure effectiveness Apply visual enhancements to improve readability and enhance appeal for audiences Revise message tone and style Eliminate errors in writing and mechanics by proofreading the message BCOM7|CH4