© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Completing Business Messages

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Three-Step Writing Process Planning Writing Completing

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Moving Beyond the First Draft Evaluating content, organization, style and tone Reviewing for readability Editing for clarity and conciseness

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Evaluating Content Is the information accurate? Is the information relevant? Is there enough information? Are generalities balanced with specific information?

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Evaluating Organization Are all points covered logically? Do important ideas receive sufficient space and are they placed properly? Could the message be arranged in a more convincing sequence? Are any points repeated unnecessarily? Are details grouped together logically?

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Evaluating Style and Tone Does the writing meet the audience’s expectations? Is the writing too formal or academic? Is the writing too casual? Does the message focus on the audience’s needs?

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Reviewing for Readability Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Score Flesch Reading Ease Score

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Increasing “Skim” Value Sentence length Short paragraphs Lists and bullets Headings and subheadings

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Editing for Clarity Break up overly long sentences Rewrite hedging sentences Impose parallelism Correct dangling modifiers

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Editing for Clarity Reword long noun sequences Replace camouflaged verbs Clarify sentence structure Clarify awkward references Moderate your enthusiasm

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Editing for Conciseness Delete unnecessary words and phrases Shorten long words and phrases Eliminate redundancies Recast “It is/There are” starters

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Revising with Technology Revision tools Spell checker Grammar checker Thesaurus Style checker

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Producing the Message Multimedia elements Design elements

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Multimedia Elements Presentation software Graphics software Video clips and sound bites Hypertext markup language

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Designing for Readability Improve the effectiveness of your message Influence the perceptions of your audience

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Design Elements Consistency Balance Restraint Detail

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Design Techniques White space Margins Justification Typefaces Typestyles

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Using Technology Templates and style sheets Page setup Column formatting Paragraph formatting Numbered and bulleted lists Tables and textboxes Pictures and objects

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Business Letter Format Letterhead stationery Date Inside address Salutation The message Complimentary close Signature block

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Memo Format Memo title Headings The message

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Proofreading Your Message Quality assurance –Undetected mistakes from the writing, design, and layout stages –Mistakes that crept in during production

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Proofreading Advice Make multiple passes Use perceptual tricks Double-check high-priority items Get some distance Stay focused and vigilant Review complex electronic documents on paper Take your time

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Distributing Your Message Cost concerns Convenience Time constraints Security and privacy