Business Communication for the Digital Workplace The Writing Process

Business writing is . . . Purposeful. It solves problems and conveys information. Economical. It is concise. Reader-oriented. It focuses on the receiver, not the sender.

The goal is to express rather than impress.

The 3 x 3 Writing Process Phase 1: Prewriting Analyzing Anticipating Adapting

Analyze 1. Identify the purpose 2. Select the best channel Importance of the message? Feedback required? Permanent record required? Cost of the channel? Degree of formality?

Choosing Channels Channel Best use Face-to-face conversation Telephone call Voice mail message Fax E-mail Best use To share personal message, be persuasive, or deliver bad news; richest communication channel For convenience when nonverbal cues are unimportant To leave message for response when convenient To cross time zones, to produce written record, for speedy delivery To exchange information conveniently and quickly, but problematic for some messages

Choosing Channels Continued Best use When group decisions and consensus are important To disperse data or elicit consensus from geographically dispersed group To produce formal, written record for insiders To produce formal, written record for customers and other outsiders To deliver complex data internally or externally Channel Face-to-face group meeting Video or teleconferencing Memo Letter Report

Anticipate Profile the audience Primary receivers? Secondary receivers? Respond to the profile

Adapt It’s the process of creating a message that suits your audience. An important aspect of adaptation is tone. Tone - conveyed by the words in a message - reflects how a receiver feels upon reading or hearing a communication.

Think about the following statements You must return the form by 5 p.m. Please return the form no later than 5 p.m. so we can process your order today.

Adaptive writing techniques Spotlight receiver benefits (the warranty starts working for you immediately) Cultivate the “you” view (you will receive your order) Use bias-free language avoiding gender, race, age, and disability biases (office workers, not office girls)

Adaptive writing continued Express thoughts positively (you will be happy to, not you won't be sorry that) Be courteous (avoid sounding demanding or preachy) Simplify your language (salary, not remuneration) Use precise, vigorous words (fax me, not contact me)

Developing Reader Benefits Sender-focused “We are requiring all staffers to complete these forms in compliance with company policy.” Receiver-focused “Please complete these forms so that you will be eligible for health and dental benefits.”

Developing Reader Benefits Sender-focused “Because we need more space for our new inventory, we’re staging a two-for-one sale.” Receiver-focused “You can buy a year’s supply of paper and pay for only six months’ worth during our two-for-one sale.”

Emphasize the “You” View “We” view We are issuing a refund. “You” view You will receive a refund. We take pleasure in announcing an agreement we made with Hewlett Packard to allow us to offer discounted printers in the student store. An agreement with Hewlett Packard allows you and other students to buy discounted printers at your convenient student store.

Hidden Negative Meanings Writers are sometimes unaware of the hidden messages conveyed by their words.

Hidden Negative Meanings You overlooked . . . . (You are careless.) You failed to . . . . You state that . . . . (But I don’t believe you.) You claim that . . . . (It’s probably untrue.)

More Negative Meanings You are wrong . . . . (I am right.) You do not understand . . . . (You are not very bright.) Your delay . . . . (You are at fault.) You forgot to . . . . (You are not only inefficient but also stupid and careless.) More Negative Meanings

Use Bias-Free Language Gender-Biased female lawyer Waitress man hours workman Improved lawyer server working hours worker Biased Each employee has his ID card. Improved Each employee has an ID card. All employees have ID cards.

Use Bias-Free Language Biased We hired an Indian programmer. Early-bird specials are only for old people. Improved We hired a programmer. Improved Early-bird specials are only for people over 65.

Use Courteous Language Less Courteous Everyone must return these forms by January 1. More Courteous Please return the forms by January 1. This is the second time I’ve had to write! Why can’t you get my account straight? Attached is my previous letter. Please help me straighten out this account.

Use Simple, Familiar Language Unfamiliar We need to effectuate improvement of our manuals to better elucidate our training goals. Familiar We need to improve our manuals to clarify our training goals. Sales reps generally conjecture when making sales projections for homogeneous territories. Sales reps generally guess when projecting sales in similar territories.

Writing Process Phase 2: Research Organize Compose

Why is research important? Answer: The information you collect helps shape the message

You have to ask yourself what does the receiver need to know about this topic?

Research Continued Methods: Access electronically – Internet, databases, CD-ROMs Search manually – books, articles, and other secondary sources Investigate primary sources – interviews, surveys, focus groups Experiment scientifically – tests with experimental and control groups Formal Research Methods

Research continued Informal Research and Idea Generation: Look in office files. Talk with your boss. Interview the target audience. Conduct an informal survey. Brainstorm for ideas. Develop a cluster diagram.

Organize Well organized messages group similar ideas together

Organizing Continued Two simple ways to organize your information/data: Scratch List Outline

Organizing Continued Outline Tips: Define the main topic, purpose Divide the main topic into major components Break the components into subpoints

Outline Sample: Title: Major Idea, Purpose 1. First major component A. First subpoint 1. Detail, illustration, evidence 2. Second major component A. First subpoint 1. Detail, illustration, evidence 3. Third major component

Organizing Continued Organizing ideas into patterns Direct pattern for receptive audiences Indirect pattern for unreceptive audiences

Audience Response Determines Pattern of Organization If pleased If neutral DIRECT PATTERN Good News or Main Idea If mildly interested

Audience Response Determines Pattern of Organization If unwilling or uninterested If hostile INDIRECT PATTERN If displeased or disappointed Bad News or Main Idea

Compose Creating Effective Sentences: Use short sentences (20 or fewer words) Emphasize important ideas Use the active voice for most sentences.

Compose Continued Using Short Sentences Sentence Length 8 words 15 words 19 words 28 words Comprehension Rate 100% 90% 80% 50%

Compose Continued Emphasizing Important Ideas Position the most important idea at the beginning of the sentence. Make sure the most important idea is the subject of the sentence. Place the main idea in a short sentence.

Compose Continued Use the Active Voice for Most Sentences In Active voice sentences the subject is the doer of the action. Active voice: Brandon completed his tax return before the April 30 deadline. (Brandon is the doer of the action) Passive Voice: The tax return was completed before the April 30 deadline. (The subject, tax return, is acted upon)

Compose Continued Passive Voice When to use it: To deemphasize negative news. To conceal the doer of an action.

Compose Continued Drafting Meaningful Paragraphs Discuss only one topic in each paragraph. Group similar ideas together Compose short paragraphs for effective business messages.

Writing Process Phase 3: Revise Proofread Evaluate

Revise Keep it clear. Keep it conversational. Keep it concise.

Revise continued Keep it clear: Avoid indirect, pompous language. Poor: It would not be inadvisable for you to affix your signature at this point in time. Improved: You may sign now.

Revise continued Keep it conversational. Formal: Our Accounting Department takes this opportunity to inform you that we have credited your account for the aforementioned sum. Conversational: We have credited your account for $100.

Revise continued Keep it concise. Remove opening fillers. Wordy: There are four new menu items we must promote. Improved: We must promote four new menu items.

Revise continued Keep it concise Eliminate redundancies. collect together contributing factor personal opinion perfectly clear

Revise continued Keep it concise at such time Reduce to when. at which time due to the fact that inasmuch as Reduce to when. Reduce to because.

Revise continued Keep it concise Purge empty words. As for the area of athletic shoes, the degree of profits sagged. As for the area of athletic shoes, the degree of profits sagged. As for athletic shoes, profits sagged.

Revise continued Purge empty words. This is to inform you that we have a toll-free service line. This is to inform you that we have a toll-free service line. We have a toll-free service line.

Revise continued Purge empty words. Not all students who are registered will attend. Not all students who are [registered] will attend. Not all [registered] students will attend.

Revising for Vigour and Directness Kick the noun habit. Wordy: We must conduct an investigation of all parking violations before we can give consideration to your fine. Improved: We must investigate all parking violations before we can consider your fine.

Revising for Vigour and Directness Dump trite business phrases. Trite: Pursuant to your request, enclosed please find a job application. Improved: As requested, we have enclosed a job application.

Revising for Readability Develop parallelism (balanced construction) Not parallel: We can collect information, store it, and later it can be updated. Parallel: We can collect, store, and update information.

Revising for Readability Use Bulleted Lists for “High Skim” Value and Comprehension Consumers expect the following information at product Web sites: Price Quality Performance Availability

Revising for Readability Add Headings for Visual Impact and Readability A number of topics must be discussed at our next meeting: Budget Come prepared to discuss your expense requests. Schedule Who will be taking vacations or leaves? Hiring Soon we must begin the hiring process to replace Matt.

Proofread What to watch for: Spelling Grammar Punctuation Names and numbers Format

Proofread Continued How to Proofread Routine Documents For computer messages, read on the screen or, better yet, print a rough copy to read. For handwritten or printed messages, read carefully and use proofreading marks to indicate changes.

Proofread Continued How to Proofread Complex Documents Print a copy, preferably double-spaced. Set it aside for a breather. Allow adequate time for careful proofreading. Be prepared to find errors. Congratulate, not criticize, yourself each time you find an error!

Proofread Continued How to Proofread Complex Documents Read the message at least twice – for meaning and for grammar/mechanics. Reduce your reading speed. Focus on individual words. Read aloud. Use standard proofreading marks.

Evaluate Evaluating the Outcome How successful will this communication be? Does the message say what you want it to say? Will it achieve its purpose? Did you encourage feedback so that you will know whether it succeeded?

The Complete Process 1. Prewriting Analyze Anticipate Adapte Research Organize Compose 3. Revising Revise Proofread Evaluate

1. Prewriting Analyze: Define your purpose. Select the most appropriate form (channel). Visualize the audience. Anticipate: Put yourself in the reader’s position and predict their reaction to this message. Adapt: Consider ways to shape the message to benefit the reader, using his or her language.

2. Writing Research: Collect data formally and informally. Generate ideas by brainstorming. Organize: Group ideas into a list or an outline. Compose: Write first draft, preferably on a computer.

3. Revising Revise: Revise for clarity, tone, conciseness, and vigour. Revise to improve readability. Proofread: Proofread to verify spelling, grammar, punctuation, and format. Check for overall appearance. Evaluate: Ask yourself whether the final product will achieve its purpose.