Business Communication

The Writing Process Step 1: Plan Step 2: Write Step 3: Complete

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience 1. Use the “You” attitude. Replace I, me, mine, we, us and ours, with you and yours.

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to your Audience Instead of this Write this Instead of this We offer MP3 players with 50, 75 or 100 gigabytes of storage capacity. You can choose an MP3 player with 50, 75 or 100 gigabytes of storage.

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience Avoid using “you” and “yours” Make you sound dictatorial. Make someone feel guilty. Is innapropriate for the culture. Goes agains the organization’s style.

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience Instead of this Write this You failed to deliver the customer’s order on time. The customer didn’t receive the order on time.

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience 2. Maintain good etiquette

Step 2: Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience 3. Emphasize the positive. Instead of this Write this It is impossible to repair your laptop today. Your computer can be ready by Tuesday. Would you like a loaner until then?

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience Avoid Euphemisms “senior citizens” “old people”

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience 4. Use bias-free language Gender bias. Racial and ethnic bias. Age bias. Disability bias.

Putting the disability before the person Examples Unacceptable Preferable Disability Bias Putting the disability before the person Disabled workers face many barriers on the job. An epileptic, Tracy has no trouble doing her job. Workers with physical disabilities face many barriers on the job. Tracy’s epilepsy has no effect on her job performance.

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience 5. Establish credibility

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience 6. Project your company’s preferred image

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience 7. Use a conversational but still professional and respectful tone. Select passive or active voice.

Step 2 - Writing A. Adapt to Your Audience 8. Use plain language for clarity.

Step 2 - Writing B. Compose Your Message 1. Choose strong words.

Potentially Weak Words and Phrases Stronger Alternatives (effective usage depends on the situation) Increase (as a verb) Accelerate, amplify, augment, enlarge, escalate, expand, extend, magnify, multiply, soar, swell Decrease (as a verb) Curb, cut back, depreciate, dwindle, shrink, slacken We are committed to providing . . . We provide . . . It is in our best interest to . . . We should . . .

Large, small (use a specifi c number, such as $100 million) Good Admirable, beneficial, desirable, flawless, pleasant, superior, worthy Bad Abysmal, corrupt, deficient, flawed, inadequate, inferior, poor, substandard, worthless

Step 2 - Writing B. Compose Your Message 2. Pay attention to the connotative meaning of your words.

Step 2 - Writing B. Compose Your Message 3. Balance concrete and abstract words.

Concrete or abstract? Source:https://kateswaffer.com/2013/07/20/saturday-poem-love/ Source:http://www.nj-horse.com/ Source:http://jackhayes.opsb.net/our_school/school_news/what_s_new/check_your_child_s_progress_ Source:http://www.furniturebox.co.uk/enzo-white-high-gloss-computer-office-desk

Step 2 - Writing B. Compose Your Message 4. Avoid clichés and trendy buzzwords. Buzzwords, newly coined terms often associated with technology, business, or cultural changes.

Step 2 - Writing B. Compose Your Message 5. Use jargon only when your audience understands it. “Jargon, the specialized language of a particular profession or industry.”

Step 2 - Writing B. Compose Your Message 6. Vary your sentences structure for impact and interest.

Step 2 - Writing B. Compose Your Message Sentences come in four basic varieties: Simple Compound Complex Compound-complex

Step 2 - Writing B. Compose Your Message 7. Develop coherent, unified paragraphs. Basic elements of a paragraph: Topic sentence. Support sentences that develop the topic. Transitional words or phrases.

Step 2 - Writing B. Compose Your Message 7. Use transitions.

Step 2 - Writing Frequently Used Transitions Addition or amplification: and, furthermore, besides, next, moreover, in addition, again, also, similarly, too, finally, second, subsequently, last. Contrast: but, or, nor, yet, still, however, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, conversely, although.

Step 2 - Writing Frequently Used Transitions Example: for example, for instance, such as, thus, that is. Sequence: first, second, third, next, then.

Step 2 - Writing Frequently Used Transitions Time or place: at the same time, simultaneously, above, below, further on, so far, until now. Conclusion: therefore, thus, then, in conclusion, consequently, as a result, accordingly, finally.