Communicating in Written Form Topic 4-1 Topic 4-2 Topic 4-3 Regardless of your career choice, you will find that you will spend a considerable amount of time reading. On many occasions you will need to read on the job. You will find that reading is to understanding the total company that you work for. You will also need to read to complete your work tasks.

Reading and Writing at Work Topic 4-1 Reading Skills Effective Writing

Reading at Work Learn about your company Vital to understanding how their work relates to the total company structure. Understanding equipment instructions Many times workers must read Following instructions on forms Simplifies the task of collecting appropriate and complete information Critical to responding to inquiries Many of the policies and procedures related to your job will be available in written form. Many policies and procedures related to your job will be available in written form. A manage may explain how a particular task is to be done or what policies are to be followed. You will find it helpful to read the written version of what is being presented. Understanding Instructions for Equipment – Sometimes demonstrations of the equipment are provided however the employees are expected to read and follow the written instructions. Forms are developed to simplify the task of collecting appropriate and complete information from customers, clients, investors etc. It is vitally important that the employees are able to gather the information from the forms.

Improving Reading Skills Comprehension (the ability to understand what has been read) Focus Identify purpose Scan Summarize Sequence Picture Checkup Reread

Improving Reading Skills Vocabulary Determine meaning through content Determine prefixes, root word, and suffixes Use the dictionary Speed Focus your attention Time your reading Read as a single process

Writing at Work Revising others’ writing and making changes Identify the intent Focus on the purpose of the task of the message Be candid Be objective

Writing at Work Preparing communication s for others to review Composing communications and revising them before distribution

Writing at Work Purpose driven writing Policies and procedures Plans in progress Seeking or providing specific information Sending messages to customers Follow-up to oral discussions

Writing at Work Effective summarizing Understand what is at issue or what is critical Listen and read attentively Identify the critical points Write as concisely as possible Review the summary to make sure it actually reflects the meeting

Characteristics of Effective Writing Clear Logical; focused; targeted Concise The fewest and most direct words possible Courteous Expected polite, considerate behavior of business Complete Provides all the necessary information Correct Accurate and up-to-date

English Skills for Business Complete sentences Proper grammar; no contractions Correct rules of punctuation Correct rules of capitalization Correct spelling No jargon or slang

Managing Writing Tasks Identify the reason for the communication Secure all the required information Draft your message Review and edit your message Share with a colleague or manager for review Prepare a final copy of the communication Proofread Sign for distribution

Business Correspondence Topic 4-2 Effective Business Correspondence Document Guidelines

5 C’s of Effective Business Writing Clear Concise Courteous Complete Correct

3 Stages of Preparing Effective Documents Drafting the document Purpose Message Audience response Revising and editing the document Make certain the message is accurate and conveys what the writer intends Proofreading for final presentation Final overall check of the document

Drafting Purpose: What is your purpose in writing? Inform Persuade describe

Drafting Message: What is the message you wish to send? Set the correct tone or attitude Focus on the reader using the “you” approach

Drafting Audience: Who and where is your audience? Internal or external distribution Familiar with the topic or not

Drafting Response: What response do you want from the reader? How is the document to be used: to make a decision? Gain information? State message and desired response clearly

Message Types Positive or Neutral Message Negative Persuasive Give good news or neutral information in a straightforward way Negative Refusal or other disappointing news Keep the reader’s goodwill (friendly attitude) Persuasive Want to influence the reader Give the reader an opportunity to act

Presentation of Documents Clean and neat No smudges or fingerprints Organized and correctly formatted Use appropriate paper/stationery No glaring errors or mistakes Pleasing to the reader’s eyes

Formal Business Reports Informational Based on data Analytical In-depth analysis of the situation researched

Formal Business Reports Guidelines Focus the report Plan the writing Write the first draft Revise and edit Finalize visuals/graphics Present your report in final copy

Formal Business Reports Format First page top margin 2 inches Remaining pages all margins 1 inch Body of report double spaced Parts Title page Table of contents Summary Body References Appendices

Additional Vocabulary Pagination Process of dividing a document into individual pages for printing; avoid widow and orphan lines Header Used to place the same information above the text at the top of pages of a document Footer Used to place the same information below text at the bottom of pages of a document

Additional Vocabulary Widow The first line of a paragraph printed by itself at the bottom of a page Orphan The last line of a paragraph printed by itself at the top of a page

Additional Vocabulary Footnotes Automatic feature in most word-processing programs placing related text at the bottom of the correct page with automatic numbers Endnotes Automatic feature placing text on the last page of a document

Other Business Correspondence

E-Mail Electronic transfer of messages Unique e-mail address User id @ domain name Netiquette rules apply Avoid spamming and flaming SAME RULES AS OTHER BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE APPLY WHEN SENT FROM AN OFFICE OR BUSINESS

Desktop Publishing Using a computer and specialized software to create high-quality and complex printed documents Fonts: style for a set of type characters Kerning: spacing between characters

Desktop Publishing Points: measures the height of characters and equals approximately 1/72 of an inch Pitch: measures the width of characters and refers to how many characters can fit in an inch Resolution: number of dots per inch in printed text or images 600 dpi acceptable 2400 dpi used by professional printers